IT'S TIME
by miss.happy.and.lucky
Summary: God made contact with Dean. In a heartbeat that changed the lives of the Winchesters and Castiel. Did they have to face another apocalypse? And, since when did God make deals? Set after 9x14. AU.
1. Prologue

_AN: Just so we are on the same page, this takes place somewhere after episode 14 (Captives) from season nine. Please enjoy.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural._

* * *

**1: Prologue  
**

Dean was eating a sandwich in the kitchen. He had just seen Sam in the library. The nerd had been looking for some book which could take him quite some time. Dean sighed. The atmosphere in the bunker was a little bit heavy, filled with uneasiness. It was like this nowadays when there was no case. Dean had hoped that after Kevin's visit Sam would give in a little. That he would be more friendly and consider Dean a brother again. They _were_ brothers by blood, but Sam had spoken how he truly felt about that matter. Dean had seen some improvement in their relationship, so he didn't give up hope just yet. When they were on a hunt, Sam would be more invested and even take more interest in Dean. Unfortunately, as soon as they got home it was like Sam remembered why he only wanted to be partners and put distance between them again.

Dean pushed the last part of the sandwich deep into his mouth, making his cheeks puff out and went to his room to listen to some music. He didn't want to disturb Sam, but on his way he stopped by the library to get one glance at his little Sammy. God, he just wanted his brother back. For now, he had to settle with a hunter.

XXXXX

He had only been in his room for about an hour when his stomach started to growl, demanding more food. Well, you had to listen to your stomach right? Maybe there was some pie left from yesterday? Dean doubted that, not a chance that he would have left anything of something that delicious. Still, the fridge was calling out to him and it was his duty to obey. So, he got up and went back to the kitchen.

When in the kitchen, he saw that there was in fact no pie. But, there was a cake. Dean frowned, but took it anyway along with a beer. He went to check on Sammy and it looked like he had found his book.

"What are you reading?" Dean asked, mouth full of cake.

"Mythology stuff," he answered without looking up.

"Anything interesting?"

"Sure," Sam said while fully concentrated on whatever he was reading. "Hey, is there anymore beer?"

"Yeah. In the kitchen," Dean said and jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

Sam finally got his nose out of the book and went to the kitchen. Dean walked over to check out Sammy's book. As he thought, it seemed boring as hell. Then, Dean suddenly got a headache out of nowhere and it started ringing in his ears.

"What the hell?" He muttered and pressed his palm against one ear, hoping it would stop.

The sound just got louder and louder. His headache multiplied by every second.

"Sam!" Dean called out in agony and anxiety. "SAM!"

The beer slipped out of his hand and smashed to the ground into million pieces. Dean fell to his knees, covering his ears and screaming in pain.

When Sam heard Dean shouting, he quickly let go of everything and ran towards his brother. When he reached the library, he saw Dean on the floor, screaming his lungs out and blood running down from his nose.

"Dean! Dean, what is it?"

His brother seemed in so much pain. Just as Sam was about to approach him, there was a sudden bright light that forced Sam to close his eyes. Then, everything was quite. Sam opened his eyes and terror filled every inch of his body when there was no sign of Dean.

"DEAN!" Sam called out in panic. "DEAN!"

How, how could this have happened? They were in the bunker for God's sake, the safest place on the planet! Sam walked around in circles, trying to find out what or who could possibly have abducted his brother in this manner. Sam had no clue what to do, he needed help.

"Cas! I know you are busy, but someone took Dean! From the bunker! He is gone Cas! Help me!"

Sam ran his fingers through his thick hair, trying to calm himself. Castiel would come, Dean meant a lot to him. Minutes seemed like hours, but soon the angel was with him.

"What happened?" Castiel asked in serious tone.

"I don't know," Sam said. "I was with him here, then went to the kitchen and then he started to scream. I checked on him, he was on the floor, obviously in pain and then there was some light. When I looked up, he was gone Cas. Gone."

Castiel looked troubled by this. His eyes were fixated on the floor and he seemed to be deep in thought.

"Well?" Sam said eagerly.

"I... I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know! You have to know! Dean is-"

"Sam! You-"

Their arguing was interrupted by another bright light that blinded both Sam and Castiel for a second. Next thing they knew, Dean was back and lying on the floor. Sam ran towards his older brother and was sitting next to him in an instant. He checked his breathing and could safely say that his brother was alive. Sam let out a sigh of relief.

"Dean..." Sam whispered with a soft smile.

Dean didn't reply. His body was limp in Sam's arms, he was shaking a bit, his face was pale and his eyes seemed empty.

"Cas! Cas! What is wrong with him?"

It was a long time ago Catiel had seen Dean in such a poor state. The worried angel quickly put his palm on Dean's forehead and after a second he relaxed his tense muscles.

"Nothing serious. He is just in shock," the angel informed Sam and then looked intensely at the older Winchester. "Dean? Dean, can you hear me? It's Castiel."

He repeated this until Dean's empty stare finally found the angel's blue eyes.

"Cas?"

"Yes, it's me Dean."

Dean looked around at his surroundings, recognizing the walls, the floor, the shelves filled with books... It was the library. He was in the bunker.

"Sam," Dean said stunned when he noticed his brother holding him so tightly.

"Sorry," Sam answered awkwardly and gently let go of his brother.

Dean sat up and put his fingers to his temples.

"Man, I got the headache of the century."

"Stay down. I will get you something, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Dean gave his younger brother a gentle smile of gratitude. Sam left the room and Castiel couldn't resist asking.

"Dean, you have to tell me what happened. Sam said there was some light, we could be dealing with something very powerful. Tell me everything you remember, every single detail can be of importance."

"Right now? Cas, give me a break. I need a pill first."

"Dean," the angel said almost in a harsh voice.

The older Winchester looked at Castiel nervously and pulled his hands through his hair while taking a deep breath.

"What happened, Dean?" Castiel's voice was a little softer this time, after seeing the reaction from the other on this topic.

There was a short silence where the hunter could build up his courage.

"I-I think I met him, Cas..." Dean managed to breathe out.

Castiel waited for him to continue. Dean ran a hand down his face, closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. He then looked the angel straight in the eyes and opened his mouth, but didn't seem to find the right words. This was going on Castiel's nerves.

"Who, Dean? Who did you meet?"

It was just one answer. One word. Yet, it seemed like with that word, the world came crashing down on them.

"God," Dean whispered.


	2. Blast From The Past

**2: Blast From The Past  
**

Sam returned to the room with a glass of water and a pill for headache which he gave to his brother. Dean nodded to him in thanks, put the pill in his mouth, took a big gulp of water and swallowed.

"Feeling better?" Sam asked his brother.

"Dean just told me that he met God," Castiel interrupted while looking at Sam intensely and raising one eyebrow.

They stayed quite for a second.

"Well..." Sam said calmly. "That's..."

"I'm not lying," Dean moaned, disturbed by how they treated him.

Sam and Castiel exchanged worried glances, before they faced Dean again. They had to handle this delicately.

"Of course you aren't..." Sam started with a soft smile.

"I'm not fucking crazy! Stop looking at me like I'm some sort of freak, I told you what happened!"

Castiel sighed and Sam scratched his head.

"Okay Dean, but let's look at this logically. I mean, God? Really? We have been doing this for years. Some creature obviously played with your head. It has happened to us before and it's nothing to be ashamed of. It happens."

"I know," Dean said while feeling a bit irritated. "I thought about it too, but... This really felt different. Real."

"It always does," Castiel comforted.

Dean met their eyes and nodded. He felt a bit dumb now.

"I guess you're right. Sorry."

The older Winchester stood up and stretched his muscles by putting his arms in the air, high above his head. Sam's eyes narrowed when he noticed something familiar around his brother's neck. Truth was that he didn't want to ask about it and show that he cared, but he just couldn't help himself.

"So when did you take_ that_ back?" He muttered nonchalantly, remembering how Dean had lost it.

"What?" Dean asked confused.

"The necklace, I haven't seen you wearing it for ages."

Dean looked down and saw that Sam was right. There, hanging on top of his green T-shirt was the necklace Sam had given to him as a kid. Dean looked at Sam in horror. His mind was rushing in million miles per hour.

"I threw it away," he said in a weak voice.

"I know. I _remember_," Sam answered behind gritted teeth.

"No, Sam. I never returned for it."

Dean let the words sink in. Soon, Sam's eyes widened and were filled with horror too. He pointed at the necklace and his mouth hanged open in shock. Castiel put his fingers to his lips while he started to put the pieces together.

"I tried to use that necklace to find God, but it didn't work."

"It was supposed to be some sort of God EMF," Sam breathed in disbelief. "Oh my God... Dean, maybe it's true?"

Dean felt like he was going to have an anxiety attack and had to sit down again. He grabbed the nearest chair, sat down on the edge of the seat, rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands.

"This is unbelievable," Sam whispered. "We can't be sure, but let's say it's true. What did he say?"

Sam and Castiel looked curiously at Dean. He adjusted his sitting position so he would sit more comfortably and sighed.

"It's not like he talked. It's... Hard to explain. When you are in his presence you just sort of understand what he wants and thinks. And it's the same thing when it comes to you. He knows. And you don't really see him either, you just know. You know?"

Sam raised his eyebrows and his mouth became a straight line while Castiel didn't move a muscle.

"Well, that-" Sam started and didn't want to sound rude.

"Makes perfect sense," Castiel interrupted.

Sam grimaced and stared at Cas, trying to find out if the angel was actually serious.

"I was going for something a little bit different, but sure Cas."

Castiel sighed and rolled his eyes.

"That sounds like a perfect description of God. It is very similar to what angels have been told," he said as if it was obvious.

"Fine," Sam spat before he turned to Dean again. "What did he want then?"

Dean scratched his neck, looked up at the ceiling and his cheeks seemed to get a little red.

"I... It's all a blur right now," he said quietly.

Sam closed his eyes and tried to keep his breathing steady. Dean couldn't be serious about this...

"You talked to God and don't remember what he said? Wow, Dean. Just wow. That has to top everything," Sam mocked.

"Shut up!" Dean shouted, trying to hide his embarrassment behind anger. "It was a lot of stuff!"

Sam was just about to say something back when the angel stepped between them.

"I'm sure it's very overwhelming, give him time Sam." Castiel said while trying to calm them down.

Sam rolled his eyes, turned his back to the other two and put his hands in his pockets. This was when a thought hit him.

"Why would he talk to you?" He asked and faced them again. "No offense Dean, but... Why?"

"He must be pretty confused if you ask me," Dean laughed and Sam soon joined him.

"Stop," Castiel said and didn't like that the brothers took this so lightly. "Humans have been God's favorite creation, so it's no wonder he finally decided to make contact with one. Dean represents a human's weaknesses and strengths. He sins in many different ways, yet he has such a big heart and puts other's safety and well being above himself. The righteous man. When you think about it, it's rather beautiful."

"Wow. Don't get a boner there Cas," Dean commented.

Castiel glared angrily at Dean. The Winchester put his hands up in the air in defeat. If he pissed of Castiel anymore, they would soon be in a fight.

"This is no joke Dean, if this is true we have to decide what to do about it."

That was true. No matter how you thought about it, it was a serious matter. The trio went into deep thinking. Dean began to play with the amulet from his necklace with his fingers, it helped him think when he was younger. Surprisengly, he felt how the amulet got warm under his touch. The necklace got hotter and hotter.

"I remember," Dean whispered in surprise. "The necklace makes me remember. I think..."

Sam and Cas took a few steps closer to him.

"What is God's plan Dean?" Castiel asked eagerly.

"He..." Dean twisted the amulet between his fingers, trying to concentrate. It felt like it was burning under his fingers. "I think... I think he wants it all to end."

Sam took a nervous breath.

"Fuck that," Dean said and let go of the amulet. "We didn't stop the apocalypse just so the man upstairs could start a new one."

He was just about to take off the stupid thing from his neck when a firm grip on his arm stopped him.

"No, Dean. If the necklace has a connection to God we can't risk it falling into the wrong hands. Not to mention that God wants you to have it. Don't take it off."

Dean grunted.

"Fuck that. I'm not God's bitch. I'm not wearing it for him."

"Dean," Castiel raised his voice a bit, but didn't sound mean. "Until we find out more."

It seemed like the blue eyes were almost piercing through the green ones. After a while, Dean brushed the angel's hand off him.

"Fine," Dean said bitterly. "Only because _you_ asked. And I kind of missed the damn thing."

"Thank you," Castiel nodded to Dean and a small smirk found its way on the angel's lips.

Dean didn't mention the irony that one time Castiel had asked Dean to give him the necklace and now he begged him to keep it. Truth was, he kind of wanted it. He had gotten it from Sammy after all. He did not like that God had made his necklace some sort of connection device, but it was still his.

"So what now?" Sam asked and looked at his two friends.

"I don't know," Dean sighed. "But, I'm going out. I really need to clear my head from all this bullshit."

"I need to return to my business too, if that's all right. But we will keep in touch," Castiel said and after the sound of flapping wings, he was gone.

"Have a safe trip honey," Dean murmured sarcastically after the angel.

Then Dean went to his room. He grabbed his wallet, keys, leather jacket and was soon out of the bunker. Sam on the other hand, didn't really know what to do with himself. Normally, in this situation, he would be the one to do the research. But, what could he do? Look into the Bible? Google 'God'? It was laughable. Even the angels didn't know that much about him. Maybe Sam should go out for a bit too...

XXXXX

Dean had driven around town, just because it helped him relax. Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, foot on the gas pedal and no business about God. After driving in circles for about 40 minutes, he decided to stop and visit a bar called 'Tommy's'. It was not a big bar. The place was dark and the wooden furniture were old and used. There was not much for decoration either, just some meaningless paintings on the walls that really didn't fit in.

Dean ordered a beer and drank it almost instantly. It felt like the cold liquid washed all of his problems away. After seeing Dean's upset face expression, the bartender gave him a new bottle before Dean had the chance to order. Dean nodded in thanks and took his sweet time with that one, he really didn't need to get drunk today. No matter what he tried to occupy his mind with, his thoughts went back to his necklace and the whole God-thing. He ruffled his hair in anger, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Then, he noticed a group of five men staring at him.

'Man, this isn't a gay bar is it?' Dean thought in objection.

The men didn't seem to have any romantic interest in Dean, he was extremely happy about that. He couldn't stand dealing with stuff like that today. He was mentally exhausted. The men whispered something to each other and nodded. Then they started to walk towards him. Their eyes turned black and confident smiles covered their faces. Now Dean really wished that they were gay.

"This day just keeps getting better and better," he whined in defeat.


	3. Gone

**3: Gone**

Dean was a bit nervous. His stomach twisted and he swallowed hard when he saw the demons getting closer to him. He wouldn't let that show of course and glowed with nothing but confidence. People could see that something bad was about to go down so they began to clear out of the bar. The bartender seemed to recognize the five men as well because he quickly disappeared behind a staff door. The demons were all big, muscular and had somewhat matching clothes. Dean's guess was that the demons had taken the bodies of some gang. The first one had a white beard, second was bald, third had a big tattoo around his right eye, forth had long blond hair and the last one had no teeth. When they were in front of him, Dean nodded to them with a smile on his face.

"Can I help you gentlemen with anything?" He asked with a bitterly sweet voice.

"You're Dean Winchester," The one with a long white beard said while spitting out a toothpick from his mouth.

"And you are... Santa Claus?"

His bald friend grabbed Dean's jacket, lifted him up in the air and slammed him against the nearest wall. It didn't hurt that much, but Dean was caught by surprise. The bald man didn't lose his grip and had Dean hanging against the wall, feet not touching the ground.

"Okay, calm down. We can solve this real easy," Dean said irritated. "Who are you working for? The bitch or the douche?"

Their eyes narrowed in confusion. Dean fought against the urge to roll his eyes. Stupid fucking demons...

"We work for the King!" The one with a skull tattoo around his eye exclaimed proudly.

"Crowley it is," Dean said and felt relief wash over him. "And as you should know, at the moment Crowley and I are... Partners, colleagues, allies or whatever you want to call it. So you should PUT ME DOWN."

Dean pushed the bald demon that was holding him, forcing him to take a few steps back and let go of Dean. He then neatened his clothes and pouted with his lower lip when he noticed that his jacket had gotten wrinkly from the bald demon's grip. He thought that was all he was going to see from the demons until he felt a strike to his cheekbone, knocking him to the ground.

"Son of a bitch! Didn't you hear what I just said, you fucking idiot!" Dean screamed in anger to his attacker, which this time was the demon that had no teeth.

"The King doesn't work with Winchesters!" he shouted self-assured.

"You stupid-"

Dean didn't have time finish his sentence because another fist from his attacker was on its way to him, so he quickly had to roll out of the way. The bald demon grabbed Dean's arm tightly, pulled him up from the floor and drew him into punching range. Before he had the time to strike, Dean grabbed the demon by the neck, pulled him even closer and hit him in the groin with his knee. That made the demon let go and moan in pain. However, Dean's success was short-lived when the demon with the beard jumped on him from behind and locked Dean's arms behind his back. Now the blond demon began to use Dean as a punching bag. He got in three good punches in the stomach which took the breath out of Dean. The Winchester then jerked his head back and broke the nose of the demon that was holding him. When his arms were free Dean got in two good punches on the blond demon.

No matter how good of a fighter Dean was, five were still five and the odds were against his favor. So when two of the demons got the chance to secure one arm each, the rest didn't matter. Dean got himself a really good punch in the face. His lip split open, leaving him with a metallic taste in his mouth and Dean also thought that he had managed to bit his tongue. In other words, this really didn't look good. Dean had no weapons and was now being beaten up. If he didn't come up with something soon, he would surely be dead.

"Stop, wait!" Dean shouted, but they didn't listen and he got a hit in the ribs. "Let me... call him!"

The demon with the beard stopped an attack midway.

"Let me... call... Crowley," Dean said between every heavy breath.

"How do we know that it's no trick?" The bald one said and looked at him suspiciously. "You could call someone else for all we know."

"You can dial and have it on speakerphone... Look, I'm helping him getting rid of Abaddon. Know, that if you kill me... Crowley will be pissed. Do you like to see him pissed? Because I don't."

They looked at each other and started to discuss this matter. They weren't keen on helping Dean, but the thought of pissing of their King didn't really suit them either. After a few minutes they finally agreed with each other.

"Fine, but if you are lying we will hang up and slaughter you on the spot." The demon glared at him. "Very _painfully_."

"Great, so give me my phone and-"

"_We_ make the call, remember?"

"Alright, it's in my-"

The demon was already searching for the phone in the pocket of Dean's jeans. Dean really had to hold back to not spit out a sarcastic comment about how uncomfortable that made him.

"Alright, his number?" The demon asked when he found the phone.

"He is in my contact list."

The demon scrolled for quite some time.

"I can't find him..."

"Yeah, he is..." Dean said with a hoarse voice. He cleared his throat. How could he go about this and not make it awkward? "He is under the name Dick."

Apparently that was not a fitting name for the King of Hell and his dear followers did not appreciate it. Dean got a kick in the stomach for that.

"Just... call him," Dean whispered angrily. How much longer did he have to deal with this?

The demon dialed and turned on speakerphone. After a few signals, there was finally an answer.

_"What do you want squirrel?"_ A familiar British voice on the other end of the line said.

"Crowley," Dean said and was for the first time in his life relieved to hear the bastard's voice. "I'm in a bit of a situation here and your friends won't let me go, so I will need you to come here and tell them to BACK OFF."

_"Well, well... A damsel in distress, are we?"_

"I swear, I will fucking-"

_"Calm down honey, only making jokes. Where are you?"_

Dean told him the location and thankfully he didn't have to wait long before the British demon appeared before them in the bar. The five demons were really shocked about this. Maybe Crowley did have some business with the Winchesters, but they definitely didn't expect him to come in person for a rescue.

"King," they exclaimed.

"Let the poor boy go, get out of my sight and I will deal with you worthless worms later," he said with venom in his voice.

Their eyes slightly widened in horror, they quickly let go of Dean and then left the place. Dean rolled his stiff shoulders and brushed of some dirt from his clothes. Crowley took a few steps closer to him and eyed him from head to toe.

"They got you real good," he smirked.

"Shut up," Dean spit back. "Found the blade yet?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

Crowley took a seat at the counter in the bar. He found a bottle and purred himself a glass of whiskey. He gestured at the bottle, asking Dean if wanted some, but the Winchester shook his head. Crowley took a sip from his glass and wrinkled his nose at the taste. Not the luxuries he was used to, Dean guessed.

"The blade seems to have been moved around over the years, but I'm doing my best to find it."

"Apperently not because then you would already have it," Dean commented.

Crowley rolled his eyes.

"We both want Abaddon. I'm sorry my men roughed you up a bit, but cheer up would you?"

Dean sighed in irritation.

"And how is the mark working for you?"

Dean cast him an annoyed glance.

"Perfectly fine," He answered behind gritted teeth while he rolled up his sleeve to look at his mark. "It is... Gone?"

"What?"

That was weird. The Mark of Cain was not on his arm. Dean rolled up his sleeve even further up then usually, but the mark was not there. He was sure it was on his right arm... Just to be on the safe side he checked his left arm as well, but it wasn't there. What the-?

"That's odd..." Dean whispered, more to himself than to Crowley.

"What is? And what about the mark?"

Dean scratched the back of his head while staring out in the wind, really confused.

"I... seem to have lost it," he said and could not believe his own words.

Crowley raised his eyebrows and his eyes widened in disbelief. He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say and shook his head.

"Lost it?" Crowley said when he found his ability to speak again. He let out a sarcastic laugh before rage took control over him. "LOST it? How the _fuck_ do you lose something that's ENGRAVED to your bloody arm!"

Dean shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe it washed off in the shower?" He joked lightly.

Crowley stared at Dean, he couldn't believe the Winchester's arrogance. His eyes filled with hatred and he clenched his fists together.

"You are funny Dean and I don't know what trick you used to get rid of the mark, but I don't like being played." His voice was quite, threatening.

"You think I did this?" Dean shouted angrily. Nothing was going his way today. "I want to kill the bitch as much as you do!"

"Watch the tone. You are forgetting that without the mark, you are useless to me. You have no weapon to defend yourself with. And, unfortunately for you, we don't share a great past, sweetheart."

With a swing of his hand, Crowley sent Dean flying across the bar and pinned him up against a wall. Dean groaned in pain and opened his eyes to see Crowley coming closer to him with a satisfied expression on his face.


	4. Deal

**4: Deal**

Sam had decided to go out. The bunker only seemed to suffocate him, now that he was so helpless. So many books, researches, yet nothing he could read or use to sort out this mess. They had so many things in the library, but nothing to aid them. He just couldn't stay there any longer. Dean had taken the Impala, so Sam had to do the old fashioned thing, go out for a walk.

He didn't really care where he was heading and just let his feet guide him. He walked straight and only when the path split, he turned. Some fresh air was what he really needed and 'Clear his head from all this bullshit', like Dean had said earlier. Sam sighed. Dean... He didn't know what to think about all this. Had Dean really met God? It was frightening. If so, was he watching right now?

Sam remembered seeing a bench just a second ago, so he turned around and decided to sit down. He took a deep breath. If this was true, Dean would need help. Castiel would be there for him, but how much of him would _really_ be there? Dean meant the world to Cas, figuratively, but when God came into the picture... Sam wasn't sure. When they first met Cas, he had been a blind, fateful, loyal soldier of God. Not to mention that he was naïve. Sure, he had changed over time. But, Castiel would always be innocent at heart. If God would ask something of Castiel... Sam wasn't sure if Cas could say no.

What about Sam himself then? He had to be there for Dean, he _would_ be, but... Just how much of him would really be with Dean? Sam was still angry at him for making wrong and selfish choices. They had decided to work as partners and hunters. If this was another apocalypse thing, Sam would help Dean without a question. But, what if Dean didn't need a hunter right now? What if Dean, right now, needed a brother? This had to worry Dean a lot, Sam was sure of it. Could Sam do it then? Could he go back to being brothers? It didn't feel like it and Sam hated that fact.

He punched the bench in frustration with his fist and stood up rapidly. He started to walk away and this time, tried not to think about this problem. He advanced forward, felt the wind playing with his hair and the sun warming his back. The only sound was his feet coming in contact with the gravel on the road. Actually, there were three sounds that sounded exactly like that. Sam turned his head and saw out of the corner of his eye two people walking behind him. When had they appeared? Sam knew he probably was too suspicious, but the hunter inside of him wouldn't let anything slide.

He turned right the next chance he got and the two strangers followed. Sam picked up his speed a bit and so did they. Right, enemies then. Demons, probably. Sam started to run and as he expected, his followers were right behind him. He was a bit puzzled with what he should do next. He didn't have any weapons, but he couldn't just let them go either. He couldn't run home to the bunker because then he would expose their hiding place. It was daylight and a rather open area so it would be difficult to outrun them or hide. He had to fight, there were two of them... Sam could handle two demons.

When Sam felt the demons getting closer to him, he picked up a big branch from the grass, turned around and ran right into them. There was a moment of surprise that the hunter had suddenly stopped and turned around to face the other two. This gave Sam the opportunity to give one blow to the head on one of the demons. The demon had the body of a young man that was wearing black jeans and a grey T-shirt. He stumbled a few steps backwards after the hit and fell to the ground. The other demon, a young woman, was wearing jeans, a white top and a jean jacket. She swung a kick at Sam's head. He dodged right in time and blocked the kick with his branch.

The branch broke in half, leaving him with two pieces of wood. One had a really sharp edge. He kept that one and threw away the other. Sam hadn't noticed that the male demon had already gotten up on his feet. He was quick, kicked Sam in the stomach which made the hunter grunt and take a few steps back. Both of them, the woman and the man, were athletic and Sam guessed that the demons had taken the bodies of some sportsmen.

"We know you are after it! Give it to us!" The woman shouted angrily.

The blade, Sam realized. They were after the blade. This had to be Abaddon's men then. How did she know that Sam and Dean were looking for the blade? Did she think that they already had it or was she just taking precaution? Either way, this didn't make the task of getting rid of Abaddon any easier. Sam knew that what he was about to do would piss the demons off, but he did it anyway. Right now, it was the only way to get rid of them.

"_Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica._"

The demons realized what Sam was up to and rage mixed with fear crossed over their faces as they flung themselves at the hunter. Sam stabbed the male demon in the leg with what remained from his branch, very deeply, to slow him down. He then faced the woman and kicked her in the ribs.

"_Ergo draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica adjuramus te. Cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque aeternae Perditionis venenum propinare._"

The exorcism slowly drained their powers, but they did not give up. They never gave up. The women tried to strike Sam three times, he dodged the first two, but the third hit him at the jaw and he fell on one knee from the impact. He swept one leg across the ground, knocking the demon off her feet.

"_Vade, Satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae, hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu dei, contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine, quem inferi tremunt._"

She grimaced and let out complaining noises before jumping on Sam. She sat on top of him and her hands tightened in a firm grip around his neck. He had trouble breathing, but desperately continued in a hoarse voice.

"_Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine._"

He grabbed her clothes and tossed her over his head. She did a loop and fell on her back with a grunt. Sam inhaled for more air.

"_Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica._"

The male had gotten the piece of wood out of his leg. Both demons covered their ears and screamed in complaint. The exorcism was really weakening them at this point. Sam raised his voice.

"_Ergo draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica adjuramus te._"

The male demon was quick, he ran up to Sam and stabbed him with the same piece of wood in the shoulder. Sam let out a cry of pain. He punched the male right in the face, breaking his nose and making blood pour down.

"_Cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque aeternae Perditionis venenum propinare. Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire te rogamus, audi nos!_"

The two screamed as black smoke purred out of their mouths and disappeared. Then the bodies of the two individuals were lying unconscious on the ground. Sam grabbed the piece of wood that was still in his shoulder and felt how the pain spread itself to the arm. He took it out quickly and howled in pain. He checked on the man and the woman and could state that they were alive. They didn't seem to be in any grave danger either. He called for an ambulance for the pair while he himself quickly made his way back to the bunker.

XXXXX

"Enjoying this?" Crowley asked and tilted his head to one side.

"Crowley, you son of a bitch. I swear-" Dean started.

The King of Hell waved his hand twice, Dean's body smashed hard against the floor and then back at the wall again. Dean closed his eyes and clenched his teeth together to not let out any sound of pain. Why was this happening to him?

"I want her dead," Dean growled. "I want you dead too, but Abaddon comes first. Why would I-"

Crowley grabbed the bottle of whiskey he had been drinking from earlier and smashed it against the counter. The glass broke into pieces and the golden brown liquid spilled all over, even staining the Scottish demon's clothes. Crowley was left with a deadly weapon in his hand. He held the top of the bottle and the other end was sharp edged glass.

"This was some bad alcohol," he said while looking down at the broken bottle.

He walked slowly over to Dean. The hunter swallowed and watched the demon's every move.

"But then again, I tend to be so picky. Why don't you have a taste?"

Crowley bored the sharp end into Dean's leg. The Winchester howled in pain, but then bit his lip because he didn't want to give the demon that satisfaction. He bit a hole in his lip, but didn't feel it. The pain in his leg was too dominating. He looked Crowley in the eyes and the other gave him a slug smile, promising that this was only the beginning. Then, Dean heard the wonderful sound of flapping wings which made him smile while Crowley gritted his teeth.

They took a look at who had arrived. Both's expressions changed into a confused grimace. It was clearly an angel, but not Castiel. The male had very short brown hair, brown eyes and was wearing a grey suit. The King of Hell looked at Dean.

"New boyfriend?" Crowley teased.

Dean glared at the demon before turning his gaze to the visitor.

"Who the hell are you?"

"A friend. Castiel sent me to watch over you. He said that you might have something of value that would need protection. I see that his concerns were accurate."

Dean felt like a little child who had picked a fight with someone much older and was now being scolded by a parent. He could take care of himself. Well, right now was maybe not the perfect example of it, but still.

"I'm fine," he mumbled embarrassed.

"What is the new valuable thing you have?" Crowley watched Dean closely, trying to figure him out. "Traded it for the mark? Because then I think it's half mine."

"Let go of Dean Winchester," the angel said coldly.

Crowley was very powerful, but not stupid. He knew that you had to be careful with angels. Unwillingly, he let go of Dean and backed away two steps.

"Get out of here," the angel told Dean.

The hunter didn't like being told what to do, especially not by dicks with wings. He had enough of that in the past. But, right now, he didn't have much of a choice. He had no weapon and not to mention that he had been beaten up and was in no condition of fighting. Dean took out the pieces of glass in his leg and moaned quietly in pain. The Winchester swallowed his pride and nodded a 'thank you' to the angel. He then left the bar as fast as he could, leaving the demon and the angel inside. He got into his baby and drove away quickly.

XXXXX

Dean stumbled into the bunker and halted a little because of his injured leg. Man, his whole body felt like crap. When he reached the library, he saw Sam sitting in a chair, with a towel all covered in blood that he pressed against his left shoulder. Sam's clothes were very dirty, there were grass stains and even blood stains on them. He also had a big bruise on his jaw. This was the worst part of their job, being hunters. Dean had to, so very often, see his Sammy hurt. He hurried to him.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Dean asked with a worried voice and wanted to see the wound, but Sam jerked away.

"Demons, I took care of it." He whispered and you could detect exhaustion in his voice.

Sam then looked more closely at Dean and saw that his brother looked no better himself. He had several wounds, especially the nasty one on his leg. It looked like Dean had been in a rather big fight himself.

"What about you?" He nodded to Dean.

"No, I'm fine." Dean waved away the question with his hand. "But we should do something about your shoulder. I will call Cas."

Before Sam could say anything, Dean left the library as quickly as his leg would allow him. Sam sighed. So both of them had gotten beaten up, was this a good day or what? Dean came back in no time with their angel right behind him. Castiel shook his head when he saw Sam.

"You two need to be more careful," Cas said with a worried voice.

Then he placed two fingers on Sam's forehead and in a second Sam was as good as new. He then walked over to Dean and did the same thing to him. Castiel's healing powers never ceased to amaze them.

"This feels much better," Dean said and made one jump to try his leg.

"Glad I could be of help," Castiel said in his usual deep voice.

"About that," Dean said and pointed at the angel. "Thank you for your minions Cas, but you need to tell them to back off."

Castiel raised his eyebrows.

"But, Dean-"

"I know, it saved my ass. But, Cas... I was just distracted. Normally I would recognize them as soon as I stepped into the bar." Castiel was about to say something, but Dean put his hand up to stop him. "Listen, I just know that I can't have this necklace that has a connection to God, demons hunting me AND angels watching my every move. I need some space."

Dean looked almost pleadingly at Casitel. After a short silence, Cas nodded.

"I understand."

Dean smiled, but then he remembered something that made his smile vanish the same instant.

"By the way. I thought you should know-" Dean said while dramatically gesturing with his hands. "God stole my Mark of Cain!"

"What?" Sam rubbed his eyes. He was so tired of all this shit.

"Yep. It's gone. He stole it. Must have. The frickin' bastard stole it!"

"It makes sense," Casitel murmured and tried to ignore the glares from Sam and Dean. "It must have happened right before you met him. The mark is evil, Dean. You could not meet God with the mark on you."

Dean cast Sam a sarcastic glance and let out a huff of frustration.

"Well, how very considerate of him. What about his ten commandments? No stealing!"

Sam rolled his eyes and Castiel seemed... aggravated?

"Why you would withhold such important information from me that you even had such a thing is beyond my understanding..."

Castiel was hurt. He didn't even look at the older Winchester. What could Dean say? He knew Cas wouldn't like that he had the mark and would only worry too much, so he decided not to tell. Well, now it didn't matter anyway since it was gone. Dean sighed.

"What do we do about Abaddon now?" Sam asked in a tired voice. Rather then having this quarrel, they should come up with a plan on what to do next. "I can tell you that the bitch knows we are after her."

"Yeah. And Crowley doesn't seem to be an ally anymore," Dean added and ruffled his hair. "This whole thing is a mess."

The trio stayed silent.

"What about God?" Castiel asked carefully.

"Yeah, have you heard anything?" Sam added.

Dean stared at them.

"God? God has nothing to say in this," Dean said and grabbed his necklace in anger. "If anything, I want compensation for my mark!"

Dean looked angrily at his necklace, it was the reason to all these complications. Once again, the amulet burned hot under his touch. Dean frowned and his forehead wrinkled. He opened his mouth in disbelief and let the necklace slip away from his grasp, only to land on his chest again.

"What is it?" Sam asked and didn't know if he actually wanted to hear the answer.

Dean had to blink a few times before saying anything, as if to see if this was really true.

"He wants to make a deal," he said.

"What kind?" Castiel asked.

Dean looked up at Sam and Cas.

"To help us rescue Adam from the Cage."


	5. A Way In

**5: A Way In**

What had just been said echoed in their minds. They had once found a family member they never knew the existence of, a brother. Even though the time they spent together wasn't long, he also became a friend. Then, he was taken, lost and unfortunately slightly forgotten as well. Not because they didn't care, but because they didn't think they could do anything to help him. It was easier to just let the memory slip away. Now it had emerged to the surface again, and it brought a lot of feelings with it.

Sam was the first to break the silence.

"Rescue... Adam?" He said while staring into nothing.

"Yeah..." Dean breathed out.

Adam Milligan, a nice blond guy that had been a student at the University of Wisconsin. Life seemed pretty promising. Well maybe it would have, but Adam was half-Winchester and that brought its own curses with it. As expected, Adam's life was turned upside down. He and his mom were killed by ghouls and then he got resurrected only to be a piece of the angel's schemes. In the end, he was used and then trapped in the Cage for eternal torture with Michael and Lucifer.

"Wow, I don't really know what to-" Sam cut himself off, buried his face in his hands and took a deep breath. "What's the other end of this... deal?"

Dean wet his lip before he spoke.

"He wants me to deliver something."

Sam didn't expect that. He looked at Dean's necklace and then back at his brother again.

"Deliver what?"

"Wouldn't say, so I don't know."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Alright, but to who then?"

Dean closed his tired eyes.

"I don't know," he said in a hollow voice.

Sam ran a hand through his hair and let out an irritated growl. Dean's eyes narrowed. He cleared his throat, looked at the floor and then up at Sam.

"Sam-"

"I know," Sam cut him off sharply.

Dean didn't need to say anything. Sam just needed one look from his brother to know what he was thinking. Whatever the other end of the deal was, they had to do this. This was Adam they were talking about. They had to at least try and then deal with the consequences later.

"How do we do it?" Sam simply asked.

"We need to find a way to get into Hell, find the Cage and then the necklace will take Adam out."

Sam snorted. It sounded so easy when Dean said it. It was laughable. Sam scratched his neck with a sad smile on his face.

"This is a suicide mission and you know it. Going to Hell when we are both on Crowley's and Abaddon's wanted list... Not the mention that we will be on their territory. This is nuts."

Dean sighed. Sam was right without a doubt. But... Dean got once a choice, to rescue Sam or Adam from the Cage. Obviously, he chose Sam and he never regretted that decision. But, that didn't change the fact that he still felt guilty about not being able to rescue Adam. It was like he had abandoned him. Now they had a chance to change that. He had to do it. No matter the cost.

Dean opened his mouth, but Sam was first to speak.

"I know, I know, Dean." It was like he could read his older brother's mind. "I'm all for it, I just don't know _how_ we are going to do it. I mean, okay, say we get into Hell. How do we find the Cage?"

Dean closed his mouth again, he honestly had no clue to Sam's question.

Castiel, who had just been standing quietly the whole time, had been in some sort of trans and thinking things through. He cleared his throat, gaining the Winchesters' attention.

"You will not simply _find_ the Cage," He said in a serious tone. "It is said to be at the absolute bottom, hidden deep in the worst part of Hell. Even demons don't know where it is. Having you two stroll around in Hell with Crowley and Abaddon looking for you will surely not end well."

Sam put his hands up in the air in defeat.

"Well, what do we do then?" He asked angrily. "Has God any perfect plan on how we do this?"

Dean grabbed the amulet from his necklace again. It burned hot, but something was different. He knew it right away. Dean closed his eyes and tried to concentrate more. It was like trying to open a locked door. His head hurt, he got a horrible headache and he felt weak. His legs failed him and he was about to fall down when Castiel caught him in the process.

"Thanks man," he told the angel.

"You got a nosebleed," Sam said with a mix of worry and confusion in his voice.

Dean swept the back of his hand under his nose and saw that it was in fact covered in the familiar red liquid.

"Seems I can't do the necklace thing too often," he smiled lightly.

Sam shook his head.

"Well, we just have to figure this one out by ourselves. Let's sit down and think it through."

"We will need a lot of beer for that. Cas, could you get some?"

Castiel glared at Dean.

"I don't understand why you would need alcohol for this. Humans tend to be less focused when intoxicated."

"Not us. It will _really_ help us. And I just got this huge nosebleed, so I would really appreciate if you could fly away like the angel you are and get some of that precious beer. Pretty please?" Dean teased in a sarcastic yet sweet voice, put his palms together pleadingly and pouted with his lower lip.

Castiel rolled his eyes and was gone after the sound of flapping wings. Dean did a fist bump when the angel was gone and Sam only sighed.

XXXXX

The three of them sat around one table in the library. Castiel sat straight with his back hunched forward a little, a sign that he was tired. Sam rested his elbows on the table and Dean had his feet kicked up against Castiel's armchair. All of them took big gulps from the bottles in their hands.

"So..." Dean started and put down his beer for a moment. "We can start with Hell. The nerd should do this. Go, Sam."

Sam glared at him and sighed. Yes... Between the two of them, he was the thinker.

"Well... We can't go through the Devil Gates because at the same time that lets a ton of shit out here," Sam began. "We could find one of those rogue reapers and ask them to take us. Like when I was doing the trials and went to get Bobby's soul from Hell. That could work. The reapers always ask for a price, but I don't really see another way."

The trials, Sam, Gadreel, not brothers anymore... Dean tried not to think about that right now and pretended like the memory didn't affect him. His and Sam's problem could be dealt with later. Right now, it was about Adam. Therefore, Dean simply nodded.

"Fair enough," he said. "How do we find the Cage?"

This was the tricky part. Sam bit his lip as he thought.

"What do we know about the Cage?" Sam said aloud more to himself then to the other two. "There are different ways to open it. Breaking 66 seals, four rings of the horsemen and something with heaven's weapons. But all those, _open_ the Cage from here and we don't want that for several obvious reasons. We want to find it inside of Hell, am I right?"

Sam looked at Dean for confirmation.

"Go on," Dean said.

"So, we know the Cage can be opened from many different places, but we also learned from the apocalypse that the Cage's real location is under St. Mary's Convent. The problem is, once again, we don't want to open it, but to approach it from the side."

"Right. So, we need a voluntary reaper to get us into Hell somewhere very close to St. Mary's Convent and then we have to find the Cage from there," Dean said as he put the pieces together. "Is that even possible? Is there a passage to Hell there?"

"Like Cas said, otherwise it's impossible to find the Cage. So that's all I can think of," Sam said as he shrugged his shoulders and took another gulp from his beer.

"Lucifer and Michael are angels," Castiel added. "If we are close enough to the Cage I might be able to hear them and find the way."

"Perfect!" Dean exclaimed. "So let's hit the road."

"We have to find a reaper first, remember? That should be interesting."

Dean let out a breath from his impatience.

"I will go now, but contact me when you have found this reaper. Adam Milligan has suffered enough down there and rescuing him seems to be God's wish as well. I am happy to be of any help."

"See you Cas," both brothers said simultaneously.

After that, the angel was gone.

Dean nodded at the empty bottles that were on the table.

"Can you take that? I think I'm going to take a shower," Dean said.

"Sure," Sam answered. "I will try to come up with something about the reaper thing. See you tomorrow."

Dean gave his brother a soft smile and then left the library. This had been a long day. A _very_ long day. So much stuff had happened and everything seemed a bit different now. He tried not to dwell on it, there was a limit of how much a person could worry. He looked down at his clothes. They were both dirty and bloody from his earlier fight and his sudden nosebleed. They were also torn in some places and had holes. Damit it. His jacket was okay, but he had to throw away his T-shirt and jeans. Dean was really tired. After his shower, he would go to bed and try to get some sleep. After all, there would be plenty of things to do tomorrow.

XXXXX

In this line of work, being hunters, Sam thought of surprises as a natural thing. Today was different though. Dean had met God, lost the Mark of Cain and now they were going to rescue Adam from Lucifer's Cage, for crying out loud. Not even in his wildest imaginations could he have guessed that this would ever happen. They had to do this step-by-step. First, this thing with the reaper. Sam had come up with a plan, but he was sure that Dean would not like it...


	6. Dealing With Reapers

**6: Dealing With Reapers  
**

The next morning was, like usually, a routine. Both Winchesters took a shower, got dressed and met up in the kitchen for breakfast. There was no chit-chat or small talk, both made their own sandwiches or cereals without saying a word. Then they sat down around one table. It was only then that they began to talk, about work anyway.

Dean was in a rather good mood, despite the circumstances. He thought that it would be a lot harder for him to fall asleep since his head was full of thoughts and worries. Luckily, all the events from yesterday had drained the energy out of him and he had slept like a baby. Sam on the other hand looked tired, he had circles under his eyes and kept yawing.

"Didn't sleep well?" Dean couldn't resist asking.

Sam didn't even answer because it was rather obvious that he in fact had not slept well. Instead, he rubbed his eyes and looked up at his brother.

"I've come up with a plan to find us a reaper," he started slowly.

"That's great," Dean said with mouth full of food. "What is it?"

Sam twisted in his chair, feeling a bit uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"It's actually really simple... We find someone... Who is about to die, set a reaper trap around him and... wait for the reaper."

Sam's gaze fell to his plate and he started to eat his cereals at a faster pace. A short sarcastic laugh escaped from Dean.

"You mean," Dean clarified. "We find a poor bastard who is dying and make his reaper powerless, making an innocent guy suffer even longer in his last moments so we can get some information from the reaper?"

Sam put down his spoon with a thump and let out an irritated huff.

"I never said it was virtuous," he tried to defend himself. "I mean, we can find a... A bad guy, a criminal... Look, I know it's not fair, but... We don't have anything else and it's only for a moment."

"Fine, fine, not judging. I don't have a better idea myself. So who is our lucky man?"

Sam stood up from the table and left to get something. When he was back he had a bunch of papers in his hand, which he handed over to Dean. The older tried not to let out an annoyed grunt.

"I stayed up last night researching," Sam said. "There is a hospital a couple of hours from here. They have two patients that could be in our interest. One man, age 67 who raped two sisters and was released from prison three years ago. He had a car accident and the doctors are barely keeping him alive. The other is a woman of age 75 who kidnapped, tortured and murdered a little boy that was five years old. She was released eight years ago and was caught in a fire, lying on her deathbed too it seems."

Dean nodded his head, really impressed by Sam's homework. It also explained why he was so tired.

"The hospital is very short on staff," the younger brother continued. "So I figured that we get some false documents and one of us works during the day and the other takes the night shift. Then, we can keep an eye on our target practically the whole time."

"Wait, so it will be like work on top of work? That's..." Dean made a grimace. "That's a lot of work, man."

Sam rolled his eyes and snapped the papers out of Dean's hand.

"But working with nurses can't be too bad..." Dean said as he leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling with a mischievous look on his face. "I want the day shift."

Sam opened his mouth in disbelief.

"I planned this whole thing! You are taking the night shift!"

"I need my beauty sleep!"

They glared at each other.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Dean asked and couldn't help but smile widely from ear to ear.

Sam shook his head.

"No, fine. I can take the night shift," he said in a low voice and turned his back to get something from the kitchen.

Dean sighed. Why couldn't it be like the old days? Why couldn't Sam just be Sammy? It was only work, work, work. Dean grunted. Now that they would be in the hospital it would be even more work... Oh, God.

XXXXX

The next few days might have seemed boring to anyone else, but once again it was a routine for the Winchester boys. They could, for the time being, forget about their God-problem and look at this as a normal hunt. This was stuff that they were used to and knew how to handle.

They had packed their things and drove to where Sam had found the hospital. Then they had checked into a motel not far from there. While Sam had been out fixing their documents, Dean had visited a bar to drink.

After that, they got their interviews at the hospital and both got the job. It wasn't even something to be nervous about. The hospital really needed people and the Nursing profession was dominated with females so males were welcomed with open arms.

Then came the hard thing. Dean had no idea that nursing could be that exhausting. They did a lot of different things and had a really tight schedule. After a whole day, you were done for. Well, not completely. There was room for a date or two with a nurse on Dean's part. There were of course some incidents at the hospital where Sam or Dean got things wrong, but for the most part they played their parts well. No one suspected anything.

As for the reaper they were hunting... The Winchesters decided to paint a trap in both the man's and the woman's room. They wanted this to be dealt with as soon as possible. Since the rooms in the hospital were almost empty and to not raise any suspicion, they painted the reaper traps on the ceiling with invisible ink. Now they just had to wait for the guest of honor to visit.

XXXXX

At first, nothing seemed to happen in the next couple of days. The man's condition got a little worse, but no sign of a reaper. The woman actually got a little better. The brothers really had to control themselves to not get upset over this. If they got better, it was good right? Even if it messed with their hunt.

Sam had gotten second thoughts at this point. He had remembered his own suffering in Hell and could not imagine in what state Adam was in. He had suggested to Dean that they gave this up and asked Death for help. Dean had declined. He said that Death creeped him out and could basically reap them any second. Plus, Dean had once asked for his help and Death had agreed to only help one out from the Cage. So the Winchesters stuck with the plan.

It was 3 o'clock in the middle of the night and it was Sam's shift. He was just passing through the corridor when he saw a man in a black suit standing in one of the hospital rooms. It was the room belonging to the man with the car accident.

'Gotcha,' Sam thought as he picked up his phone and called Dean.

_"Ym, wh-you-wan?"_ Dean's voice was hoarse and unclear.

"Come, we got him. He is with the guy," Sam whispered. "And destroy the trap in the woman's room on your way. If you can, get Cas. See you soon. Hurry."

Sam hung up and took a look around. There was no one around, except for him. He was quite lucky that there were not many people working the night shift. Sam sneaked into the dying man's room, locked the door and shut the drapes. He then turned around to face the reaper.

"I'm sorry, but the visiting hours are over," Sam said and regretted the words as soon as he said them. It was more of a comment that Dean would say. He didn't like that the older influenced him so much some times.

"I guess you are the one who..." The reaper said and gestured around him. He couldn't move. His voice was shaky. It looked like he had never dealt with a situation like this before. "I don't understand why. I'm just here to do my job... What do you want?"

Sam was about to answer, but heard the sound of flapping wings and felt a tiny breeze.

"Dean is on his way," Casitel said and eyed the reaper in front of him. "So this is him?"

"No," Sam said. "But, this one will lead us to our man."

Sam faced the reaper again.

"I really don't want to interrupt you with your work so I will make this very quick," Sam said. "We are looking for a reaper who makes deals, any types of deals really. Like transporting souls or that alike from and to Hell for example. This can be done really easily, just tell us a name and where we can find such a guy. Then, we release you and you can go back to what you normally do."

The reaper's eyes wavered between Sam and Castiel. He swallowed and answered them very carefully.

"I don't know anyone like that. We are not supposed to make any deals of any kind, just our work. I'm sorry to not be of any help, please just release me."

Sam tilted his head to one side and sighed. The hard way it is. He reached out his arm towards Cas. Understanding what Sam wanted, the angel put his angel blade in Sam's hand. After that, Sam took a few steps closer to the reaper.

"We need a name and a place."

"Please, I don't know..." The reaper's eyes didn't leave the angel blade in Sam's hand.

This was so easy that it was ridiculous. The reaper was so frightened he could barely contain himself. Sam almost felt sorry for him.

"Then I guess we don't need your help," Sam said nonchalantly and swung the blade towards the reaper.

"No-stop!" The reaper screamed and Sam stopped midway. Obviously, he had no intention of hurting the reaper, but _he_ didn't have to know that.

The reaper took a few heavy breaths, before he looked Sam in the eyes.

"I knew someone once," he started. "Like a few others he left and started his own business. I have heard he goes by the name Greg and does almost every request, but that's all I know. I swear."

Sam twisted the blade in his hand.

"I think you should know something about where an old friend lives."

"He was not a frie-" Of course Sam had seen right through him. The reaper sighed in defeat. "I have not had any contact with him for a long time because I disapprove of what he is doing. Last I heard, he was working in a small casino a couple of towns from here."

Sam smiled and gave Castiel his blade back. Then he turned to the reaper again.

"Well, thank you for your co-operation and sorry to interrupt you during work. We will be off now, just one last thing. Where is the exact location of the casino?"

XXXXX

Dean almost ran through the corridor when he saw Sam going out of the room, closing it gently. When he was in front of his brother, he caught his breath before speaking.

"Sam, wh-"

"Everything is fine, I got our next location. Did you undo the trap in the woman's room?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, wh-"

"Cas left for now, but said to contact him when we find the other reaper. Let's go."

With those words Sam just started walking away towards the exit. Dean spun around, a little bit confused, but then hurried up and followed Sam.

"Wait!"

XXXXX

They didn't waste any time and hit the road immediately after leaving a message to the hospital that they were quitting their jobs. They got their stuff from the motel and drove to the casino. Once again, the faster this would be sorted out, the better.

Sam and Dean traveled peacefully. They drove through some towns, stopped for gas and something to eat, then continued. Dean sped up as much as he could, so it only took them a couple of hours.

"You want to check into a motel first or what?" Sam asked when they finally reached the right town.

"No, we have wasted enough time as it is. Let's just go straight to our guy. Where was it again?"

"Next, turn right."

Dean did as Sam said and followed his further directions. Then they stopped in front of a high building, built with bricks. The casino.

"Let's get this over with," Dean muttered as he stepped out of the car.

The Winchester brothers walked into the casino and took a look around. There were not that many people, but still a few. There was a small bar at one side, then there were slot machines, black jack tables and some pool tables. If they would not be on a job, Dean could really see himself have a good time here.

The brothers walked over to the bar and Dean leaned on the counter facing the bartender.

"We are looking for someone," he said with a smile.

"Everyone is looking for someone," the bartender answered without looking up and filled two glasses with beer for other customers.

Dean let out a heavy sigh, he looked annoyingly at Sam as he took out his wallet and then put some money on the counter.

"The name is Greg."

The bartender smiled, looked up and took the money.

"That would be the nice lad over there," he answered while pointing at a man playing pool.

Sam and Dean nodded to the bartender in thanks and made their way to the man wearing black jeans, white T-shirt and a dark grey jacket. When they reached the pool table Greg looked up with a surprised expression on his face.

"Can... I help you with anything?" He asked.

"Yes, we would need your... special skills, Greg." Sam said and hoped the reaper would get what he meant.

Greg's face lit up, he knew exactly what Sam meant.

"Well, this way please, let's talk somewhere more private."

XXXXX

They were led into a small room that looked almost like an office, but more shabby. Greg took a seat behind the desk.

"What can I help you two with?" He smiled.

Dean and Sam looked at each other. This was it.

"Right, we need transport to Hell." Sam said, it was best to cut straight to the chase.

"Near St. Mary's Convent in Ilchester, Maryland. Can you do that?" Dean added.

Greg looked at them a little bit suspiciously and thought for a second.

"That's very specific."

"Can you or not?" Sam hissed.

"Yes, I can." The reaper leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Who or what do I transport?"

"Us two and an angel," Dean informed while pointing at himself and his brother.

Greg started to laugh hysterically. Sam and Dean raised their eyebrows. When the reaper noticed their confusion, he stopped.

"Transport _two_ mortals _and_ an_ angel_? This is some kind of joke, right?"

"Dead serious. All three need to go," Dean stated blankly.

Greg's mouth hanged open.

"Well, that's impossible. No one will do such a thing."

"That's why we came to you," Sam added.

A small smirk found its way on the reaper's lips. He clapped his hands together.

"That will be very expensive."

Sam and Dean held a breath. They had been preparing for this.

"Name the price," Dean said without showing any sign of concern.

"The obvious would be to ask for a Winchester soul..." Greg started. "Many clients would fancy that..."

So, he knew who they were. Crap. Of course he would know... Everyone seemed to know these days. Sam clenched his fists.

"But," The reaper continued. "I have heard that when it comes to the two of you, one seems to always get the short straw. And I happen to like myself, don't want to end up dead anytime soon."

Dean rolled his eyes. This could go on forever.

"What do you want?"

Greg smiled at their impatience, but was serious when he spoke again.

"I want an angel blade," He said while staring at them intensely. "A weapon that can kill a demon, hellhound, angel, reaper... I could still keep my business running and have something powerful to defend myself with."

The brothers were quite for a second.

"Done," Dean said with confidence.

Sam looked at Dean with hesitation and the older shrugged his shoulders softly, careful so that Greg would not notice. They would have to ask Cas to help them with the payment. For now, they needed this deal to be done. Greg smiled brightly, showing his teeth.

"Pleasure doing business with you," He said as he stood up and shook their hands. "I will begin with the preparations for your little journey right away."


	7. Here We Go Again

**7: Here We Go Again  
**

They had exchanged numbers with Greg and checked into a motel. Then, they had tried to come in contact with Castiel several times. They knew that he had a lot to do, with the whole angel situation and all, but it never took him so long to come.

"You think something happened to him?" Sam asked a bit nervously.

Dean shook his head with confidence, refusing to even think that something might have happened to their angel.

"Cas," he prayed aloud with a bit of anxiety in his voice. "Damn it Cas, you okay? Come here."

They waited for a couple of seconds, and after hearing a very familiar sound, relief washed over them. Castiel was now with them and was standing in the middle of the room.

"Sorry that I'm late. I was in the middle of something," he said apologetically. "Have you found the reaper?"

Sam looked away and Dean made a guilty grimace towards the angel.

"Yeah, we sort of already met him and made a deal..." The older Winchester said as he shrugged his shoulders and smiled innocently.

"What?" Castiel asked in anger.

"Well, we know you have a lot on your mind right now so we thought that we didn't have to burden you with this and could do it ourselves instead." Sam said gently.

"It was nothing major so we could do it without your help," Dean added.

Castiel shook his head in disapproval and let out an irritated breath that he apparently had been holding. The angel closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. What was done, was done.

"Did the reaper agree to help us with our journey?" He asked instead of further arguing with the brothers about why they had not contacted him before meeting the reaper.

"Yes," Sam answered.

"What did he want in return?"

"About that," Dean said and pointed at Cas. "He wants an angel blade."

Castiel bit his lower lip.

"Did you agree?" He asked with patience.

"Well yeah, we figured that-"

Castiel rolled his eyes and ran a hand down his face.

"Sam, Dean..." He looked at them with a serious expression on his face. "An angel blade is a very powerful weapon, it should not be in the hands of someone we don't know!"

The Winchesters sighed.

"We know Cas..." Dean looked up at the angel and his eyes showed a hint of sorrow. "But... It's Adam."

Castiel stared into those green eyes that didn't leave his for a second.

"This is a bad time to be asking me for weapons. Me and my forces need everything we got."

Dean's eyes left the angel and his gaze dropped to the ground. Castiel clenched one fist.

"Oh, fine! I will get an additional blade for you."

Dean smirked and Sam smiled.

"Thanks man, you're the boss!" Dean winked at him and made a thumbs up.

Castiel sighed. He now wondered if associating himself with the Winchesters had really been the best decision in his life. Unfortunately, Cas couldn't help but smile when he saw the brothers' genuine joy. What had he gotten himself into? That was a question he should have asked himself a long time ago.

XXXXX

While waiting for Greg to contact them, Sam and Dean drove towards St. Mary's Convent in Ilchester, Maryland. Castiel went to take care of his own business and would arrive when the brothers had heard anything from the reaper.

When the Winchesters had arrived at the right spot, they spent the rest of their waiting time in another motel. The nerves were almost eating them up, but they did not confess this to each other. Would they succeed on their journey? Would they find the Cage? Could they take Adam out? Would everyone make it out alive? Neither Sam nor Dean said a thing, but both knew there were too many damn obstacles along the way.

One could think that going to Hell with God's necklace or whatever, would make you feel safer. It was the complete opposite. They didn't know much about it and for all they knew, it could destroy the whole journey.

So, in short version, the next two days were pretty intense and had the brothers on the edge of their seat. Finally, just when they thought that they could not wait any longer, Dean got a text message from Greg. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he opened it. They got a time and a place.

"Sam. Call Cas," Dean said and put his phone back in his pocket. "Time to go."

XXXXX

After the angel's arrival, they took the Impala and drove to the convent. Castiel could take them, but they wanted to save as much of the angel's mojo as possible. They sure as hell knew that they would need it later.

Dean complained some on the way. His baby had a bumpy ride and had to drive through some rough territories. Nothing they had never done before. When they arrived to the place, they were surprised to see that there was nothing there. It shouldn't actually be a surprise, the chapel was probably destroyed when Lucifer was released. Not that it mattered anyway, it was not the convent itself, but the ground it had once stood upon that was the Cage's location.

As they kept driving they saw a small figure that was Greg. He was waiting for them and looked a bit anxious. This was the first time Castiel saw their reaper.

"He looks a bit suspicious," he said from the backseat of the car.

"Well, try to be nice. The guy is pretty important right now," Dean answered without looking at the angel.

Castiel glared at Dean, but didn't say anything more. The older Winchester stopped the car in front of the reaper and everybody got out in the fresh air. It was afternoon and the sky was filled with grey clouds that contributed to a gloomy atmosphere. It was windy which made the air a bit chilly and it had rained earlier that day, so the grass was wet.

"How you doing?" Dean nodded to the reaper and winked. Someone had to cheer everyone up on this utterly boring day.

The reaper didn't even bother to answer. He had been so confident with himself during the meeting and didn't seem to care that much for anything. Right now, he cared. Greg was really focused on the task at hand and was almost nervous about the whole thing.

"We don't have much time," he said in a serious tone. "Let's get a move on."

He started to walk in a fast pace and the trio followed. Now and then, the reaper would quickly look back at Castiel, as if he was afraid the angel was going to backstab him or something. They kept walking for a good amount of time. Castiel sighed.

"I should tell you," the angel whispered to the Winchesters. "I don't know how it will look inside. It can be either similar or completely different from your memories of Hell. It's hard to tell."

The Winchesters just nodded.

"We just have to wait and see," Sam half joked, but his smile didn't reach his eyes.

They made it to a small forest or at least a place with a lot of trees, when Greg finally stopped.

"We are here," he said and carved up his sleeve to look at a watch he had around his wrist. "I have already prepared everything. A portal will open here in two minutes. Now, give me the angel blade."

Castiel tensed up while Sam and Dean broke into laughter.

"Yeah, right. So you can just leave us to rot in Hell?" Dean smiled while he crossed his arms.

"Not a chance," Sam said and shook his head.

Greg looked puzzled.

"So, what?" He said angrily. "I take you in and out, and_ then_ you give it to me? Who says you won't just use it on me?"

The reaper had a point. What he said _would_ be a perfect scenario for them. Cruel, but perfect.

"How about this?" Sam suggested. "You take us to Hell. Then you come for us, we give you the blade_ in_ Hell and we all go back together?"

It was a bit risky for both sides, but the most fair agreement. Greg didn't look too pleased. He didn't like the idea of going to Hell himself, but he nodded. Then there was a blue light and the portal arrived, about ten feet before them.

"Alright," the reaper said. "When you are going back, meet me at the exact same spot you arrived at. You will have three hours in Hell, I can't give you more. I will wait by the portal, but not for long. Try to do whatever you are going to do as discreet as possible. Good luck."

They nodded to show that they understood the instructions. The trio took a deep breath and tried to calm themselves. Then, with rapid steps, Castiel took the lead and went in through the portal first. Sam and Dean were right behind him.

XXXXX

When they stepped into Hell, they had expected a lot of things, but not what they actually saw. As soon as all three had gone through the portal, it closed right behind them. They took a look around.

It was like they were in a desert. It didn't matter where you looked, there was only sand, with no end. Well, almost. Apart from the sand, the place was filled with burning flames. It was a bit ironic, yes, but this time it was actually crucial. In this desert-like-place, there was no sun, moon or stars above them. The only thing that lit up the surroundings were the flames. Even with the flames, it was rather dark.

You would imagine this place to be burning hot because of all the fire, but it was not. It was almost a bit cold instead. It was weird.

Something else that stood out was how quite it was. There was no sound of any living or dead thing apart from the two brothers and the angel. No sound of wind, or even the crackling sound from the fire. Nothing. It sent chills down the brothers' spines. It was creepy. It felt like this part of Hell was abandoned or something.

"Let's go," Dean requested. "The faster we do this, the better."

"Don't touch the flames," Castiel warned. "Either of you."

"Didn't plan to Cas," Sam commented.

"Yeah, you kind of learn that as a kid." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Very well," Castiel said, but didn't sound relieved.

"Which way?" Sam asked.

Castiel closed his eyes and concentrated on finding Lucifer and Michael to be able to locate the Cage. After a couple of seconds, he opened his eyes and nodded towards a direction. Cas took the lead again, Sam followed second and Dean third.

They kept walking through the desert and it almost felt like walking in a labyrinth because they had to avoid the fire. It was a long walk and no matter where they went, everything looked the same. Fire and sand. Sam wondered if they would make it in time. How far away was the Cage? Sam didn't want to ask Castiel, the angel seemed so focused on his task. He worried that interrupting Cas might only end up in them losing their lead.

Sam sighed quietly and glanced over at Dean to see his brother doing something very stupid, without knowing it.

"Watch out!" Sam shouted.

Dean's right hand slightly grazed a flame beside him. His eyes widened and he fell on his knees to the ground. He buried his hands in his hair and banged his head down in the sand, screaming. Sam and Castiel were quickly beside him. Castiel tried to calm the older brother while Sam looked for any burns, but there were none. After a few seconds, Dean had finally calmed down and looked up at them apologetically.

They were in a desert with only two things, sand that they were walking on and fire surrounding them. They had gotten one instruction: Don't touch the fire. Easy, right? Yet, Dean had managed to do it. Well... It was different here. You could only rely on your eyes. You didn't feel the warmth from the fire nor hear the crackling from it. It was everywhere around you, so it really wasn't _that_ easy to not accidently touch it. But, Dean felt guilty. He should have been more careful.

Dean inhaled slowly and tried to make his hands stop shaking.

"That was... It-"

"Yes," Castiel interrupted. "When a human soul is tortured and turned into a demon, new flames are created. What you felt was what someone was thinking, feeling and experiencing in their worst agony."

Dean shook his head violently, trying to make the memories and feelings go away.

"So all this fire..." Sam said astonished as he looked around.

"Yes," Castiel said sadly. "Hell has existed for a long time, so you can-"

"We can do the math," Dean cut him off sharply.

Dean closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He couldn't make this one feeling go away... He had once tortured souls. He was positive that it was not long enough for them to turn into demons, but still. He had done it, contributed to some of the horrible pain. Maybe he deserved to feel what they felt? Maybe he _should_ touch this fire, maybe-

"Dean," Castiel said and his voice was sharp, but also filled with sympathy. "We don't have time for this. Do you want to rescue your brother or not?"

Of course Cas had seen right through him. The angel had such difficulties trying to understand humans, yet sometimes he just needed one look and it was like he could read Dean's mind. This was probably one thing where Castiel understood Dean better than Sam did. The angel had seen Dean in his absolute worst and then rescued him from it. It was not difficult to guess that he would feel guilty after touching a flame.

"Sorry," Dean said and stood up.

He brushed off the dirt from his clothes and then spat.

"I think I got sand in my mouth," he said with a distasteful look on his face.

"That is not sand," Castiel said and bit his cheek. "Those are human ashes."

Dean's eyes widened in horror and his mouth hanged open in shock. Then, he started to spit everywhere.

"You - moron," Dean said to Cas between every time he spat. "Couldn't - you - say it - sooner?"

Castiel chuckled and Sam laughed out loud.

"It's not funny," Dean warned them. "It's fucking disgusting and creepy."

"No," the angel smiled. "It's actually really- Wait."

Castiel raised his hand to silence the brothers.

"Do you hear that?" He asked cautiously.

"What?" They asked at the same time.

This whole time, they had just heard their own breathing, heartbeats and footsteps. Nothing else, but... Now that Castiel mentioned it. They could hear something in the background...

"Hellhounds," Castiel stated in terror. "They must have followed our scent."

"What- How many?" Dean asked with worry in his voice.

Castiel listened.

"Ten, twenty? More? I don't know. A lot."

"Holy shit," Sam breathed.

"We have to go, NOW!"


	8. The Cage

**8: The Cage  
**

Dean was paralyzed. No matter how hard he tried, his body just wouldn't move. It was stupid and so the wrong time. When he heard the multiple growls that hungered for a prey, he kept seeing flashes of his past. He kept replaying the scene where hellhounds tore his whole body apart to send him to Hell.

"Dean," Sam pleaded and pushed him forward.

It seemed that was what Dean needed. A push. He woke up from his little nightmare and nodded. They started to run and Castiel led the way. It was not easy, not easy at all. Running in sand, correction, running in ashes was one thing. Trying to avoid the fire that was everywhere around you, was another.

The barking and growls from the hellhounds got louder which made the trio automatically run faster. As it was bound to happen at some point, Sam and Dean tried to go through a small path simultaneously and Dean accidently pushed Sam. He reached out, trying to catch his brother, but Sam fell right into the flames. Without a second thought, Castiel quickly dove down for the younger Winchester. He grabbed Sam and pulled him out. Sam gasped painfully for air, as if he had been suffocating and Castiel panted.

"That-" Sam breathed.

"I know," Dean cut him off with a sad smile. Touching the flames was no walk in the park.

It was a short recovery, but they had to continue again. Sam was still a bit disorientated, but Dean grabbed his arm and guided him as best he could.

"I can see the Cage," Castiel exclaimed. "We are close!"

Sam and Dean didn't see anything. Was this the angel's super eyesight or something? Could he see things that were a long distance away or what? But how could he then say that they were close? There was no time for questions. They had to simply trust their friend in the trench coat.

They kept running and felt how they eventually got sore muscles. Finally, Castiel made an immediate stop, so that Dean and Sam bumped right into him. He didn't even seem to notice and only admired something in front of him. The problem was that there was nothing there.

"What are you doing, go!" Dean shouted angrily. This was such a waste of time.

Castiel turned around and looked with confusion at the other two.

"We are here, don't you-" The angel's eyebrows knitted close together in thought. "You can't see it."

"The Cage? It's here?" Sam asked.

Castiel bit his lip. This made things a bit difficult. Why couldn't they see it? Was it because God had created the Cage? And that it was meant to imprison the archangel Lucifer? That could be a solid reason to why only Castiel, an angel, could see it...

Sam and Dean found this irritating. They wanted to ask Cas what it looked like. Was it made out of steel bars? Or was it just a big iron room? Or was it something disgusting, like made out of flesh and bones? Whatever it was, they didn't have time. Once again, they were just so damn lucky they had Castiel with them.

"Just guide me to it," Dean said and grabbed his necklace, holding the amulet between his thumb and index finger.

Castiel stood behind Dean, grabbed his shoulders and led him forward. Dean stretched out his arm forth as much as he could. After taking a few steps, Dean felt like the amulet had collided with something in front of him, but he couldn't see what.

"That's it, it has touched the Cage." Castiel let go of Dean.

There was a light that came from a spot in front of, or beside the amulet, where it was supposed to touch the Cage.

"It's coming from the Cage," Castiel explained. "I think it's working."

Dean tried to let go of the necklace and surprisingly it stayed in the air, or glued to the Cage that he didn't see.

"It will probably detach itself when the extraction is over. I will buy you some time," Castiel turned his back and took out two angel blades from within his coat.

He held each in one hand and was ready for battle.

"Wh- Are you going to fight them by yourself?" Sam exclaimed.

Castiel smiled at Sam's worry. Cas had the best chance of fighting against the hellhounds. Dean had to stay put beside the Cage, until they got Adam out. Sam would have to guard his brother, since that one couldn't move.

"I will try to hold them off. Dean, focus on the necklace. And Sam, guard Dean so that no hellhound will attack. If one would approach the two of you, tell me."

After those words Castiel walked past Sam and positioned himself at the front, waiting for the gang of the hungry hellhounds. There was a good distance between him and Sam together with Dean beside the Cage. They held their breath and heard how the barking got even louder. There was the sound of stomping paws and Sam could swear that the ground was shaking a bit. Then, the hellhounds were there.

XXXXX

Castiel was amazing, to say the least. The Winchesters had seen him in action several times, but this time was another deal entirely. He was overpowered by numbers and had to go all out. Being a soldier, like he had stated in the past, really shone through this time.

Castiel was jumping around with stunning speed all over the place. He was slicing, cutting and stabbing with his blades. The barks would change into squeaks and cries of pain as he killed one by one. But, there were many. A few of the hellhounds got their claws on Cas and would scratch him or bite deep into his skin. Then you would hear Castiel moan in complaint, but he kept fighting.

As soon as a hound slipped through his grasp and got close to Sam and Dean, Castiel would throw himself at it without a second thought. Then he would go back to the rest of the pack and keep them in place.

Sam watched this with a few tears in his eyes. It was a painful scene to witness, without being able to help. His hand was sweaty, but he held his demon-killing-knife that he got once from Ruby, tight in his hand. If it would come to it, he would fight.

"No." Sam suddenly heard Dean say from behind, but couldn't turn around to face him.

He kept his eyes at Castiel, who at the moment was overthrown by several hounds. Sam couldn't let his eyes leave this sight, he had to watch to know if he would need to take action. Still, his brother's struggle worried him.

"What is it Dean?" He called back, eyes and ears still focused on the hellhounds in front of them.

"The necklace, it won't-"

Dean never finished that sentence, but the younger could hear a gasp of surprise and horror from his brother. What was it? Did something go wrong?

"Sam!"

That was too familiar. The way Dean had just called his name... Sam had only heard that scream when there was grave danger. His brother sounded terrified, lost even. Sam didn't have to think twice about his next move, he spun around quickly and felt like as if someone had punched him straight in the gut. There, standing beside his brother, was Lucifer himself.

He was in his former vessel, Nick or something, wearing jeans and a beige T-shirt. His eyes were dead and staring at them just like a shark. He had a pleased smile on his face. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck which made Dean stumble nervously backwards, away from the devil that was so nastily close to him. Sam was almost shaking from fear mixed with disbelief.

"Well, this saves me a lot of time." Lucifer smiled, a gentle smile that sent chills down the brothers' spine. "I was going to look for you Sam, as soon as I finally got out of this prison. But, you spared me the trouble by coming here yourself. Really nice of you, I knew we could get along."

Sam lost all words. He couldn't speak. Dean was in the same state. Even if he always could come up with a snarky comment, now was different. Holding on to his last hope, Sam's eyes quickly managed to look over at Cas, but he was occupied. He had his hands full. He was lying on the floor, fighting for dear life and probably didn't even notice their new visitor. Damn. Sam's eyes went back to Lucifer and Dean.

"I did _not_ enjoy you throwing us into the Cage," Lucifer said to Sam and made a sad grimace. "Bad move. But that would have never happened if your sweet brother didn't come and talk to you, right? He ruined everything for us, don't you think?"

Lucifer's eyes went from Sam to Dean and the older swallowed in fear. Having Lucifer stare at you could be described as him skinning you alive with his eyes. He looked at Dean as if he was a piece of meat. You just had no idea, what was going on in that head of his. Dean broke the eye contact and looked over at Sam for a second. His eyes said everything. What the hell were they going to do? What-?

Then there was an extremely unpleasant sound, where with one move, Lucifer had pierced his whole arm through Dean's chest. Dean's eyes widened in shock, he opened his mouth to finally say something, but only coughed up blood. Lucifer smiled at him and then removed his arm, leaving Dean with a gory hole right through him. Dean took a shaky hand to his wound, but that's all he could do before he collapsed to the ground, headfirst.

It had all happened in a matter of seconds. Sam's body froze, he couldn't think, couldn't breathe. He was ice cold and his vision blurry because tears were gathering in his eyes. Then he slowly started to tremble.

"I guess we can call it even now," Lucifer said as he looked down on Dean lying in his own pool of blood that kept increasing at a fast rate.

There was too much blood. Way too much blood, Sam realized in horror. Lucifer wiped his messy arm that was covered in Dean's blood and bits of flesh on his jeans. He had a distasteful expression on his face, as if it disgusted him. He then sighed and kicked Dean's body very lightly with his foot, but the Winchester didn't move and there came no sound from him. Not even the smallest whisper. There was nothing. Tears began to run down Sam's cheeks.

"Well, that's that," the devil said and shrugged his shoulders.

Sam fell to his knees, he dropped his knife and hyperventilated to get even the smallest amount of air into his lungs, which his cries prevented him from. He buried his fingers in his hair, nails piercing into his skull. He couldn't believe it. It wasn't true. It-was-not-true. Lucifer looked at Sam with a casual expression and when he saw in what state the younger Winchester was in, he smirked.

"N-n-no..." Sam breathed.

He couldn't process what had happened. It was too fast. There was no way that it just took a couple of seconds for Lucifer to ki... To... Sam shook his head several times and then pulled his hair as hard as he could. No... No...

"Yes," Lucifer whispered.

Sam couldn't even hear him. He just stared at his brother's body that was lying so still at the devil's feet.

"DEAN!" Sam cried out in agony at the top of his lungs.


	9. Deluded

**9: Deluded**

All the chaos surrounding them was making him uneasy. Finally, Dean saw that the light that was between the necklace and the cage was slowly fading away. He hoped this was a good sign, he had been waiting around while the necklace was hanging in the air for quite some time. Dean twisted around in his spot impatiently.

'Come on! Come on!' He thought to himself.

As if hearing his prayers, the extraction seemed to be over because the necklace finally let go of the invisible cage and landed on his chest again. They had Adam! For the first time since they came to Hell, Dean felt a tiny bit happy. This was when he heard the horrifying and loud scream coming from Sam. When Dean heard it, it felt like his blood ran cold. What was going on? Was Sam attacked by hellhounds? Were those beasts tearing his little brother apart? Or was Sam's scream a way of warning him that the hellhounds were just a second from jumping on Dean himself? Whatever it was, he expected the worst when he spun around quickly.

There was no such thing as hellhounds. Well, close to them at least. Castiel was still taking care of them and had them somewhat under control. Sam... Sam was no pretty sight. He was on his knees and was sobbing. Dean's eyes scanned him for an injury, but he couldn't find any. This was very confusing to him.

"Sam, what is it?" He asked with obvious worry in his voice, hoping he would get some answers.

He approached his brother, but when he did that Sam inhaled rapidly and his eyes widened. They were filled with so much hate and sorrow.

"No!" Sam shouted.

Dean put his arms up in the air, showing that he had no evil intention.

"Sammy? What is wrong with you? We don't have time for this," He tried gently.

It pained Dean to see his brother so devastated and being so spiteful towards him. What had Dean missed? What had happened? He tried to take a few soft steps forward. Sam grabbed the demon-killing-knife from the ground and pointed it at Dean.

"No, stop it! Don't come any closer, you fucking bastard!"

Tears never stopped running down Sam's cheeks, his eyes were swollen red and he breathed heavily. Something seemed to be eating him from the inside, like a bad memory or something. Draining his energy completely and just leaving him in this poor state.

"Drop the knife, Sammy..."

It was like talking to a wall, he couldn't register what Dean was saying. Like he was in his own world. Sam let out another cry and then dropped his arms to his sides in defeat, but was still holding the knife in one hand.

"It's the cage!" Dean heard Castiel yell to him.

"What?" Dean asked.

He turned his head away from Sam and looked over at Castiel. The angel was still fighting the hounds, but had clearly noticed or heard Sam's weird behaviour too.

"Lucifer - Cage - Too close - Not real!" Castiel shouted as he was slashing the hellhounds.

This was when it hit Dean and he realized what was going on. Sam was hallucinating. Why didn't they think that this could happen? After being so close to the cage and all. Great... This was just what they needed right now.

"Sam, listen. It's me. _Dean_. Sam, listen to my voice, it's _me_."

No luck. Sam looked as terrible as before. He smashed his fist on the ground with anger and tried to stop his cries. Dean sighed. This was not going to work. He needed to do something before Sam got his shit together. As mean as it maybe was, Dean had to strike now when Sam was vulnerable and weak. He had the advantage because Sam was broken and in no condition of fighting, but soon the hunter in him would show himself. They did _not_ need a Winchester-fight right now... That's why Dean quickly ran up to his own brother and knocked him into unconsciousness.

As Sam was lying on the ground, Dean wondered what possible hallucination could break his brother in that manner that quickly. With no time to speculate any further, he grabbed the knife and picked up Sam in his arms. Crap, he was really friggin' heavy!

"We can go Cas! I got the necklace and Sam! Let's get out of here!"

"You go first, I will follow! The same way!"

Cas didn't have to say that twice. Dean started to run as fast as the heavy Sam in his arms would let him. He ran past Cas and saw out of the corner of his eye that he only had four hounds left. Dean tried not to think about how badly hurt their angel was. He tried to avoid the damn fire and had to sometimes take it slow so that Sam would not touch it either. Then something strong hit Dean in the back, knocking him down and making him drop Sam. They both landed hard on the ground. He then saw their attacker, a hellhound, jumping on Sam and was just millimeters from sinking his teeth down into his brother's face.

"No! Leave him!"

Dean threw the demon knife and managed to hit his target. The hound yelped, then growled at Dean and was about to attack him when Castiel appeared and beheaded the damn dog.

"Just in time," Dean sighed with a smile.

The angel helped Dean up and then the Winchester picked up Sam again. Castiel took out the knife from the hound and then stumbled on his own feet, but managed to keep his balance.

"Hey, don't tell me that I have to carry you too." Dean didn't even know if he had meant that as joke or not.

"There are more coming," Castiel answered in a weak voice. "We have to go to the portal. I don't think I can fight more of them."

Dean didn't argue about that. Cas' clothes were torn to shreds. The trench coat was no more than maybe a T-shirt at this point. He was covered in blood from tip to toe, had several wounds, bruises, swellings and looked like he was going to pass out any minute. If it wasn't for that gleam in his eye, the fighting spirit, he probably would.

They started to run again. Sweaty, bloody and exhausted, but somehow they managed to keep going. Whenever Dean would turn the wrong way, Cas corrected him and they progressed forward. At last, they reached their spot and Greg, the reaper, was already waiting for them.

"Finally," he said impatiently and looked stressed out. "Now give me the blade."

"Are you kidding me?" Dean breathed as he secured his grip on Sam. "Hellhounds are seconds from coming here, just get us out!"

"We had a deal." The reaper's voice was steady and serious.

Castiel coughed up a little blood, then he gave the reaper one of his blades. The reaper scrunched up his nose when he saw that the blade was all covered in blood, but didn't complain. He got what he wanted. Castiel raised his own blade towards the reaper in a warning, showing him that they still had a weapon that could kill him.

Then, there was the sound of barking and growls again which gave Dean goosebumps.

"You got it! Now, get us out!" The Winchester shouted to the reaper.

Greg looked back and forth between Cas and Dean, showing that he had originally indeed planned to trick them. However, the gravity of the situation seemed to have changed his mind. Maybe it was better not to be on the Winchesters' and angel's wanted dead or alive list.

"Fine," he spat.

He began to move quickly and they were right on his heels. Just around the corner of a big flame, there was the portal. The reaper stepped in first, Dean followed with Sam in his arms and Castiel was shortly after. Finally, they had left the horrible place.

XXXXX

Going to the other side of the portal was like a dream come true. They could feel a chilly wind on their faces and breathe in the fresh air. Instead of furious beasts, they heard the songs from some birds in the distance. Instead of ashes everywhere, they had soft grass beneath them. Instead of being surrounded by flames, there were beautiful trees and bushes. Then there was the welcomed smell of nature. Everything felt like home.

As soon as they were through the portal, the reaper made a run for it. He didn't want to be in the company of Winchesters and an angel any second longer than he had too. He quickly disappeared behind some trees.

"Just leave him be," Dean told Cas. "He got what he wanted... We got what we wanted... Let's just..."

Dean put down Sam on the ground and then lied down himself. He stretched out his muscles and let out a sigh of satisfaction. Castiel almost collapsed to the ground, he could finally rest! They didn't lay there for long when Sam started to wake up, his eyes flew open and he looked around himself in bewilderment.

"W-What the-?" He shouted. "What happened?"

"Welcome back," Dean said calmly with a smile.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Dean is referering to that you have regained consciousness," Castiel said and made a grimace because his body hurt when he talked.

"Yeah, and literally too because we _are_ back on Earth," Dean pointed out.

Castiel only smiled and Sam noticed the horrible state of the angel.

"Oh my god, Cas! Are you okay?"

"Yes, I just need some time to heal. How about you, Sam? Are you okay?"

Sam only nodded. Why wouldn't he be?

"When we were near the cage, you were hallucinating again, man." Dean looked at his brother with worry.

Sam suddenly remembered. His face expression changed, showed a bit of pain and sorrow again.

"I'm sorry Sam," Cas apologized. "I should have figured out beforehand that being so near the cage could affect your hallucinations with Lucifer... Good news is that I'm positive it was just there. You don't have to worry about them anymore."

"Yeah, I'm just..." Sam looked at Dean that was beside him, breathing and alive. It felt so reassuring. "I'm just relieved."

"What were you hallucinating about?" Dean asked.

"It doesn't matter," Sam smiled. "The important thing is that it was just a hallucination."

Then the trio just sat there silently, slowly regaining their strengths. Everything about that moment felt just right.

"What about Adam?" Dean broke the silence and looked over at Cas.

"Heaven is still closed and his soul is probably very damaged so for the time being I would suggest that he stays in your necklace."

"Hm..." Dean grabbed the amulet from his necklace and stared at it. Suddenly it started to glow. "Cas? Is Adam's soul coming out or what?"

The older Winchester looked nervously at the angel as the amulet started to glow stronger and stronger. Castiel looked at the necklace and his face became pale.

"Close your eyes!" He yelled to the brothers.

Without a second thought, they obeyed. The light was blinding bright. It shone stronger and stronger, then left the amulet and flew away into the distance. It was gone as fast as it had appeared.

"Is it okay now?" Sam wondered while he still covered his eyes with his hands.

"Y-yes..." Castiel breathed out.

"What on Earth was that, Cas?"

Castiel looked like he was in shock, his mouth hanged open in disbelief and his eyes just stared at the brothers.

"It... It was Michael."

"Michael?" Sam exclaimed.

They all got up from the ground. Michael? As in the archangel, Michael? Dean ran his hands through his hair.

"W-What - How - When - What?" There were too many questions in his head.

Castiel put his fingers to his temples and tried to make any sense of this, but couldn't.

"Wait, we made a deal to take _Adam_ out. Only Adam. Nothing was said about an extra ticket for some archangel dick," Dean said. "Wait... Did God just do this deal to get his favorite little feathery son of a bitch back? Did he just trick us?"

Castiel slowly shook his head. This couldn't be real.

"Cas?" Dean raised his voice.

Castiel didn't know what to believe. Had God, his father that finally showed a sign of being alive, really tricked them?

"Cas!" Dean shouted and lost his patience completely. He was furious.

"I-I don't know..." Cas mumbled weakly.

Dean's hands were trembling from anger. He just couldn't believe it. Everything was fine and now this shit happened! He walked over to the angel.

"What do you mean, you don't know? Huh?" He gave Cas a push on his shoulder when he saw that the angel was avoiding his gaze. "Cas! Come on! What the fuck is going on?"

"Stop being a dick, Dean." Sam interfered and grabbed Dean's arm to turn him around.

It was understandable to be a little bit emotional because of the situation, but Dean had to calm down. They needed to figure this out. When Dean looked at Sam, he was anything, but calm.

"Since when do you care about people, Sam?" He spat. "First Adam, now Cas. So touchy-feely."

Sam's mouth became a straight line. He knew exactly where this was going. For a long time now Dean had been holding all this in, building up all these emotions and decided that now was a good time to let it go. It was not.

"Don't start this," Sam simply warned.

"Yeah, that's very convenient for you isn't it? Since you decided this shit and didn't give a fuck about how I felt about it."

Dean's voice was full of venom, but there was also so much sorrow. Sam started to get angry too at this point, but God knew that he tried to keep his calm.

"We talked about this and I'm not having this conversation again. You were being selfish and you know it."

Dean bit his own fist in anger. His breathing rapidly increased and his eyes stung.

"Everything I have EVER done, MY ENTIRE LIFE, was for YOU!" He shouted.

"We had an agreement! You decided something for yourself and didn't give a shit about what I wanted!"

The brothers stared at each other in fury. There was a short silence and Castiel was just about to say something, but Dean spoke first.

"Fuck this," he said. Dean was sick of it. Fuck Sam. Fuck everything. He saved his life and got all that crap. Fuck it.

He turned his back and started to walk away, towards where he remembered the Impala was parked.

"Are you retarded?" Sam couldn't believe this. "Michael is free out there and will come for you, idiot! Are you just going to walk away now?"

Dean spun around.

"Walk away from what? My brother? You clearly said where you stand. Friends? I don't think so. We are hunters and the hunt is over, right? That's how you fucking wanted it!"

Sam bit his lip in irritation.

"Dean, stop acting like a kid." He growled. "Don't walk away."

"Well, you taught me how." Dean put on his fake smile.

Sam shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"You know what? Fuck this! Just go then!"

Dean bowed sarcastically in thanks and then just left. Sam clenched his fists in anger while Castiel let out a breath he had been holding and buried his face hopelessly in his hands.


	10. Back On A Case

**10: Back On A Case  
**

His phone rang again. He didn't pick up. Dean rubbed his tired eyes. He couldn't sleep, but who could blame him? He was mad and disappointed at everything. He was mad at himself for his outburst at Cas earlier, it was unjust. He was mad at Sam and mad at God... Dean took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Michael was free... Fuck.

It hurt in his chest. It hurt that they had actually trusted God and made a fucking deal. Dean never had much faith to begin with, but had enough confidence to go through with that deal. They had literally gone to Hell, fought their way through and almost died. And, for what? To free fucking Michael. They had gone through all that to free an enemy. It was so unfair. If Dean said that he wasn't afraid, he would lie. An archangel was on the loose and it was only a matter of time before he would come looking for him.

Dean rolled over in his bed and closed his eyes. He was so tired of all this. The success of freeing Adam from the cage seemed so insignificant right now. There were just more and more problems piling up and he didn't know what he should focus on. The fact that he had lost the Mark of Cain and didn't know how to kill a knight of Hell? Or Metatron and Heaven being closed? The fact that he was wearing a necklace from God that had just screwed them over? Or maybe that dear Michael was free, probably with a vendetta against them for locking him up in the cage? Yeah, there was a lot choose from. It was just to take your pick.

His phone rang once again. Could Sam just quit it? Dean angrily picked up his phone.

"I don't want to-" He began viciously.

_"Dean?"_

Wait... He recognized that voice.

"Krissy?" Dean asked.

_"That's right, Einstein. Nice to know you haven't forgotten about me."_

Yes, that was Krissy Chambers alright. The cocky kid who had seen her mother be torn to pieces by a supernatural creature. Then she lived a hunter's life together with her father. Unfortunately, he died too. Then some guy who was working with a vampire, trained her and two others to become the best hunters yet. Lucky enough, he and Sam had stopped the whole thing. But, Krissy was supposed to live a normal life, why was she calling Dean?

_"Don't freak out,"_ she said with annoyance as if she could read his mind. _"I have tried and everything was working out fine, but trouble won't stop chasing my ass. I'm pretty sure there is a nest in my town and that's why I'm calling you. I won't back down. If you are busy, I will take this one."_

"No," Dean said immediately. "You have been good and stay that way. We don't want you back on this road again. I'm glad that you called and will be there right away. Text me your address."

_"Sure, see ya."_

Then they hung up. Dean was actually happy about this. It would be nice to be back on a normal hunt. Killing some vampires would surely put his mind off all the other things. After Dean got the address, he instantly packed his things, got into his baby and drove away leaving dust behind him.

XXXXX

As Dean was driving, he listened to music and sang along to his favorite songs. When his thoughts went back to Michael or any of the other things, he just sang louder so he wouldn't hear his own thoughts. Strangely enough, it kind of worked.

He did this almost the entire journey and then finally arrived to his destination. It was a little bit outside of town and his address led him to a small old wooden house. Even if the drapes were shut, you could see that the lights were lit so there were people home. Dean parked his car at the side of the road, got out and went to knock on the door.

He had to only wait for a few seconds before the door opened. There was Krissy, a bit taller than he remembered and a bit more mature looking. Her brown hair was in a bun and she was wearing black sweatpants and a white top. She greeted him with a smirk on her lips and gestured for him to come inside.

"So, how are you doing?" He asked as he walked inside.

Krissy rolled her eyes.

"Great," she informed and shrugged her shoulders in indifference. "I'm going to school and have a part-time job."

Dean raised his eyebrows. He was impressed.

"Well, look at that. I'm proud of you," he teased with a smile. "And are you still friends with the other two?"

"Obviously," she answered.

Dean smirked and couldn't resist.

"So..." He started. "Are you together with that Aidan guy?"

Krissy glared at him in annoyance. Then she turned around and started to walk to the next room.

"Shut up," she grunted, but Dean could hear her smiling a bit.

He let out a chuckle. He was really happy for her. She, Josephine and Aidan had abandoned their hunter lives. Krissy went to school, had a job, a boyfriend... And, it seemed that the three of them were still close after all this time. After everything that had recently happened to Dean, it gave him a pleasant feeling in the stomach to encounter a situation like this... Everything had sort of worked out for Krissy. He let out a content sigh.

She led him into the living room. The house was not that big, so the room was not big either. It had a few furnitures, they were old and had collected a bit of dust. This kind of surprised Dean.

"Are you living here?" He had to ask.

"No," Krissy said while she shook her head. "This is kind of our 'in case of emergency place'. I thought you and Sam could stay here while you worked on this case. There is nothing in the kitchen, but there are three mattresses upstairs and some blankets."

"Wait, did you say Sam?"

Krissy looked confused.

"Yes?"

"Did you call him too?" Dean couldn't believe this. He was a little angry, but didn't want to show it in front of Krissy.

"Well, yeah. I called you like a million times, but you didn't pick up. So Aidan called Sam and made him come over. Then, I finally came in contact with you. What's the matter? Are you guys fighting or something? I just thought you were working on two different cases."

"No. That's... That's what it is." Dean put his hands in his pockets.

Krissy eyed him up and down suspiciously.

"Anyway," Dean let out a breath he was holding. "Where is Sam? Is he upstairs?"

"No. The vampires have been attacking around pubs and stuff like that. There was a new club opening tonight, so there should be lots of people. Josephine, Aidan and I thought that's where they would appear next so Sam went down there."

Dean really didn't want to see his brother right now, but he knew what he had to do. If there was a nest it was not good to be hunting alone, but he didn't want to team up. Guess they had to for the time being... If there were not that many vampires, Dean would tell Sam to leave so he could do this on his own.

"Alright," Dean said to Krissy. "I will go down there too. Will you give me the address?"

XXXXX

Sam had walked around the place so many times that he almost felt like he had been here many times before. The music was very loud and the stench of alcohol was everywhere. The place was packed with people and everyone was very drunk. They were either at the bar or dancing on the dance floor. Some girls flirted with Sam, but he gently turned them down.

Thus far, he had seen no sign of a vampire. Then again, it was very hard to find one unless they were attacking someone. Doing that in such a big crowd was very stupid and therefore very unlikely. Sam noted that it was meaningless being where he was and that he had to change location. During the night, he had seen a few people go out through a back door, probably to smoke. He decided to go out and check there instead.

He pushed his way through all the people dancing and managed to reach the door and went out. The cold air that greeted him was very refreshing since inside, it was very hot. He took a deep breath and then looked around. There were only three people outside. One guy that was leaning against a wall and was smoking. The other two were girls that seemed to be chatting.

Sam walked over to one wall and leaned against it too. He shifted his gaze between the girls and the guy the whole time.

"Wh-What is wrong with you?" Sam suddenly heard one girl cry out.

He quickly turned his head and saw that one of the girls, a brunette was backing away from the other, a blond one.

"Oh my God! Your teeth!" The brunette yelped.

That was Sam's sign. He took out his knife and yelled.

"No, stop it!"

The blond was frozen to the spot for a second. Then, she turned her head towards Sam, but quickly looked away again. Instead of attacking the Winchester for finding out about her, she started running away.

"No, wait!" Sam yelled and ran after her.

This was his only clue to the nest. He couldn't mess this up. The vampire was really fast and Sam was wondering if he would catch up. They ran across the streets and into a small alley. When the vampire had an obstacle in front of her, a big trash container, she stopped for a minute and Sam used that moment to throw his knife and hit her right in the leg.

There was a cry of pain and a moment of surprise from the vampire, which gave Sam an advantage. He jumped on the vampire, knocking her down. He was prepared for her to fight back, maybe that the vampire would try to sink her teeth deep into his neck, but there was no such thing. The vampire did try to break free, but that was it. As Sam was sitting on top of her, the only other thing that the vampire was doing was to look away so that her blond hair would cover her face.

Sam grabbed her neck to try to keep her in place and turned the vampire's head so he could get a look at her. When he saw the vampire's face, his grip immediately loosened and he lost his breath for a second. He could swear that he also lost all color in his face.

Sure, the sharp teeth belonged to a vampire... But those eyes, that nose, those features... He knew who it was, but couldn't understand how this had happened.

"Becky?" Sam whispered in disbelief.


	11. The Nest

**11: The Nest**

Becky closed her mouth to hide her teeth and her eyes scanned Sam's face. She tried to find a clue so that she could determine his next move, but didn't succeed. Sam's mouth just hung open while he looked down on the blond vampire with confused and pitiful eyes. Finally, he got off her and stood up.

"We need to talk," he said calmly.

Becky didn't say anything, but nodded lightly while tears gathered in her eyes that she quickly swept away with the back of her hand. She was about to raise herself up, but stopped halfway. She looked down on her leg and saw that the knife was still there. With a shaky hand she grabbed the handle, shut her eyes and with a quick movement removed it. Against her will, she let out a gasp out of pain. Then, she bit her lower lip to not make anymore sound. She picked herself up, gave the knife to Sam and kept her gaze at the ground while hugging herself with her arms.

"Alright. Let's go somewhere else," Sam suggested and started to walk. Becky followed him close behind.

He kept looking back and was expecting Becky trying to escape, but she didn't. She didn't even look at him. With her arms tight around her own body, she just quietly followed. Something felt different about her, Sam noticed. But, maybe it was the whole vampire aspect? That wouldn't be too strange.

When they reached the road, where the entrance of the club was, Sam saw a very familiar face coming out of a very familiar Impala. The older Winchester spotted Sam as well. The brothers looked each other in the eyes with very serious face expressions and were quiet for a couple of seconds. Then they greeted each other in monotone and gloomy voices.

"Dean."

"Sam."

Dean's head turned to Sam's company and his face immediately changed into a surprised grimace.

"Becky?"

The blond looked up at Dean, but then quickly looked down at the ground again.

"What the hell are you doing with blondie?" Dean snapped and looked at Sam again. "I thought you were supposed to look for vampires?"

"Well, surprise, surprise..." Sam sighed.

At first Dean didn't get want Sam meant, but then his eyes widened in shock and he inhaled rapidly.

"No..." He breathed out and stared at Becky. "No..."

He couldn't believe it. Becky? Of all people?

"I'm taking her to the house so-" Sam began.

"You mean, _we_ are taking her to the house," Dean interrupted.

"Fine! Whatever, we just need to get her out of here. Too many people." Sam tried to give Dean a hint.

Dean got it. They didn't know if Becky was hungry or if she could really control herself. They needed to remove her from this mass. Dean gestured with his head for both of them to get in the Impala and they did. Dean himself, got in the driver seat and drove them back to Krissy's in-case-of-emergency house that they were borrowing at the moment.

XXXXX

Dean walked into the wooden house first, while Sam kept himself near Becky and gave her directions. They choose to be in the living room and Dean sank down into an armchair and sighed in content. Sam told the blond to sit on the couch that was opposite of two armchairs, were Dean was sitting in one of them. Sam positioned himself in the other. At first, there was an uncomfortable silence. How did you start these things?

"So, how come you are a vampire?" Dean asked straightforward and leaned back in his armchair with his arms crossed behind his head.

Well, that was how you _could_ start it... Sam glared at Dean who gave him a look of indifference. Yeah, maybe they had to co-operate at the moment, but as soon as this hunt was over they would go their own ways again. He just couldn't stand Dean's arrogant ways at the moment and Dean looked like he struggled with being around Sam too.

"Becky..." Sam said gently and looked at her. "You have to tell us what happened."

He placed his hand carefully on her knee, trying to make her feel comfortable and open up. The reaction was the opposite, she shuddered at the touch and brought her knees up to her chin.

"I'm sorry!" Sam quickly said and put his hands up in the air, showing that he would not try that again.

A silence surrounded them and Becky started to slowly swing back and forth on the couch. Sam and Dean exchanged a worried look.

"Dude. She is mental," Dean whispered to his brother. "We won't get anything out of her."

Just as Sam was about to answer him, Becky spoke.

"Four months."

The Winchesters' eyes widened in surprise. She was talking! Still acting weird, but talking! Sam cleared his throat and reminded himself to speak very calmly to their vampire.

"Becky, I want you to know that we won't hurt you. You don't have to be afraid. Alright?" Sam tried to encourage. "Please, can you be more specific? What do you mean with four months?"

The blond took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She was very nervous, but seemed to gain some courage. She looked up at them, but kept her gaze at Sam.

"I was turned four months ago," she told them in a weak voice. "Then they made me go with them. Made me stay with them."

"Who are 'they', Becky?" Sam asked gently.

"A nest?" Dean added to Sam's question.

Becky nodded.

"There are six of them and three of us. They change location when there is too much suspicion. We have lived here three weeks or something like that."

Sam's eyebrows got together in confusion. Wait, what?

"You said: six of them, three of you..." Sam wondered.

"Are you not part of the nest?" Dean asked.

Becky shook her head.

"We work for them. Me, Charles and Viola."

This was very confusing to the Winchesters... Vampires that work for a nest, but are not part of it? Why would anyone do that? It was unusual behaviour for vampires, they normally just had a nest and that was it. Becky saw their confused faces and started to unzip a big blue sweater that she was wearing. When unzipped, they could see that she was wearing a white top and had something quite large around her neck.

"What is that?" Sam asked while pointing at a metal collar that she had around her neck.

Her hands slowly caressed the metal.

"It's a bomb," she whispered and swallowed some saliva before speaking again. "We have to do what they say, bring food, be back at a certain time or they will set it off... So we do it."

"They turn you and put a bomb around your neck?" Dean said while he raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Wait," Sam said a bit horrified. "It does, think about it. Vampires are faster and stronger. Having one working for you is an advantage. And when the bomb that is around the neck goes off, it will separate the head from the body. It will kill a vampire... Therefore, it's a perfect way to make someone obey you."

Dean opened his mouth and nodded, a bit impressed by the nest's way of thinking.

"Wow. That is really cleaver," he commented with a small laugh at the end.

Sam glared at Dean angrily. Really? Making such comments when they had a clearly stressed out vampire in front of them? Dean pretended not to see Sam and just looked in another direction.

Okay... So the nest had three vampires working for them as... slaves? And, if they didn't obey them, they killed them? What type of nest was this? Gangsters or what? It was such an unusual behaviour, but just like Dean pointed out: It was in fact quite clever.

"Wait, this is great!" Dean suddenly exclaimed. "We have an inside track on this nest!"

Sam grimaced, but his brother was right. This was a good opportunity that they had to use.

"This nest, could you tell us more? You said there were six of them?" Sam asked.

"Three couples," Becky answered.

"They must have a leader," Dean pointed out.

"Tony," Becky nodded and took a deep breath before she continued. "They live in a big house outside of town, in a forest. Each couple have their own room on the first floor. Two keep watch outside. It's either me, Charles or Viola. The last one stays on the ground floor in the house. They keep the... _people_ in the basement which we... tie up and are responsible for. "

Once again there was an uncomfortable silence and Becky buried her face shamefully in her hands.

"It's alright," Sam comforted. "We will solve this. We always do."

She nodded.

"They don't do much, we do everything for them. I'm supposed to be back in a couple of hours," she said and looked at the ground as her voice changed into an almost inaudible whisper. "...With a prey."

Sam and Dean sighed.

"Well, okay. But, we have some time to prepare. You will lead us straight to the nest, Becky." Dean smiled like a goof and made a thumbs up towards the blond, trying to cheer her up a bit.

She grabbed her collar again, with fear in her eyes.

"Can't we just take that thing off?" Dean whined and looked at the bomb. "Cut it or whatever?"

"That might actually set it off," Sam said behind gritted teeth and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Whatever," Dean raised himself up from the armchair. "I will get some things from the car. Will be right back."

Dean was about to go, but turned around again to face Sam. He scratched the back of his head in an awkward manner and cleared his throat.

"Have... Have you heard anything from Cas?" He asked carefully.

Sam exhaled tiredly.

"He was not feeling too good when we parted," the younger answered. "Said to call him on his phone if we wanted something."

"Aha, okay." Dean nodded in thanks.

Then, the older of the Winchesters left the house. Sam closed his eyes and sighed, then he heard the girl in front of him sobbing. He opened his eyes and saw several tears running down Becky's cheeks.

"I don't want to die..." Her voice cracked somewhere in the middle of her sentence.

"Hey... We won't let anything happen to you. Don't worry about the bo-"

"It's not just that!"

Sam was startled because of the sudden outburst. Becky swept away her tears and looked at the Winchester with a sad smile.

"I know you," she said weakly. "I have read everything about you. I know how this works... I'm a vampire now. You say you won't harm me, but in the end one of the two Winchesters will kill me because it's the right thing to do... It's what you two always have done..."

Sam sat there with his mouth hanging open. He had not forgotten that Becky had read every book of Supernatural more than once, that she was uploading them on the internet and was essentially the biggest fan, but... Did she really think they would kill her? Sure, that was how they dealt with these sort of things, but...

"I had fantasies about this, you know..." Becky looked down on the ground with an honest smile. "That I would be turned into a vampire and even though you were a hunter, we would be madly in love... The vampire Becky and the hunter Sam..."

Her hands started shaking and new tears gathered in her eyes.

"This is so different..." Her voice was barely a whisper. "I have killed peop... I... You..."

Sam stared at Becky and could just not understand that it was really her. She had changed so much. Where was the always smiling and full of energy girl? Where was the girl who went to conventions, wrote fanfictions and was obsessed with the Supernatural books? Her eyes always sparkled with anticipation, like no one Sam had ever seen before. For God's sake, she had once tricked a demon into a devil's trap and later killed him! And, had only been exited about it. Where was this girl?

Now, she was just a shell of her former self. Not even a bit happy about seeing Sam, who she had once poisoned and forced into marriage. Sam was never really fond of her, but it hurt in his chest that she had changed this much. Being turned into a vampire and then enslaved had clearly crushed her. Her eyes were dead and showed no sign of hope. Her usual smile filled with dreams and expectations was nowhere to be seen...

"Becky," Sam said seriously and put his hand on her knee again. She wanted to move away again, but he had a firm grip. "Look at me. We will solve this. And find a way to help you, a cure or anything. You know that we always find a way."

She kept his gaze for a long time and finally nodded slightly.

"Okay," Becky whispered in a hoarse voice and Sam smiled at her.

XXXXX

When outside, Dean took a deep breath. The cold air that was entering his lungs, calmed him down a bit. Without further delay, he took out his phone and dialed. Best to just get this over with.

After a few signals, the person on the other end of the line picked up, but didn't say anything. It brought a smile to Dean's lips. The angel still didn't get social norms quite right.

"Cas?" Dean had to start.

_"Of course it is,"_ Castiel answered with a soft voice._ "You are the one calling. Am I not the one you wish to speak to?"_

"No, no, it is. I..." Dean took another deep breath. "I need to talk to you, man."

_"Of course. What is it?"_

Dean wondered how he should put it. Damn, maybe he should have thought of what to say before calling?

"I just... Listen, I'm sorry... Before, I just... There is a lot going on right now and it was just too much for me. Not that it should excuse me for acting like a jerk, but... I just wanted to say that I shouldn't have lashed out on you like that and then just left. You helped us a lot, were injured, and..."

_"It's alright Dean,"_ Cas said and Dean could hear him smiling.

The Winchester let out a nervous breath he had been holding.

"Good... So we're fine?"

_"Yes."_

"Alright," Dean said and felt a little bit better. "Well, that was all I had to say. Don't want to interrupt your business any-"

_"Dean?"_

"What?"

_"There is something you should know,"_ Cas said and sounded anxious. _"My grace has been... disappearing since I got it. It's not only that. When I fought in Hell, I used up most of it..."_

"Wh- Why didn't you say anything before?" Dean almost shouted out of worry.

_"You had your own problems and I didn't want to worry anyone, but..."_ Castiel paused for a moment. _"I'm pretty much powerless, Dean. If Michael shows up or anything else... I won't be able to fight."_

Dean inhaled nervously. Crap. Cas, not able to fight? The one they always relied on? And, his grace was disappearing?

_"I'm so sorry, Dean. I-"_

"No, Cas. It's... It's not your fault. Just focus on healing or whatever. Get better," Dean said.

_"If something would happen... Promise me you will say 'no'," _Castiel pleaded.

"Yeah, that's obvious." Dean looked up at the sky while he was talking. "Right now, me and Sam are just focusing on a hunt. We'll figure out everything later. See you soon Cas, okay? And get better, dude."

_"Good-bye, Dean."_

Then they hung up. Dean put his phone back in his pocket and then ruffled his hair. He walked over to his baby and tried not to think too much about his conversation with Cas. Right now, he only had to think about Becky and the nest. He took out everything they would need from the trunk of the car and put it in one big bag. Then, he returned to the wooden house.

XXXXX

When he was in the living room again, he saw that the blond's eyes were very red and swollen.

"Alright Becky," Dean said as he put down his bag on the floor with a thud. "Get some rest, me and Sam are going to come up with a plan."

She nodded and Sam got up from his armchair.

"Then," Dean continued and cracked a smile. "Let's go and kill some sons of bitches."


	12. According To Plan

**12: According To Plan  
**

In the short period of time that was given to them, Sam and Dean had put their heads together and came up with something that could work. They had gathered their supplies, weapons and had a strategy. They were good to go.

To their own dissatisfaction, the Winchesters had to involve Krissy in their plan. But, she would not be in danger or do anything hunting associated. According to Becky, there were two humans held captive in the basement. Becky had to follow the vampires' rules and, to not raise any suspicion, she had to bring a prey back with her. That would be Dean.

Plan was that she would bring the older Winchester to the nest and pretend that she had caught him. Like every vampire food, Becky would have to take Dean to the basement where the others were. There, Dean would have the chance to untie the other two humans and give them directions for their escape. Here, was where Krissy came in. The house was in the middle of a forest. Krissy would be waiting safely in a car, on the road, outside the forest.

While Sam and Dean would take care of the vampires, the two captives would run through the forest to Krissy, who would then drive the three of them into town. When the Winchesters were done with the hunt, they would go back to the town and check on the others.

The fact remained that everything that Sam and Dean were doing depended on what Becky had told them. They prayed to God that it was true, which Becky swore it was.

Besides the Winchesters' blond vampire, there were two more 'vampire slaves'. That was Charles and Viola. Becky promised that Charles would be on their side and would help them. Viola on the other hand...

Viola was ambitious and loyal to the nest. She had a nasty character and was hopelessly naïve. She dreamed that some day Tony, the nest's leader, would take off the bomb from her neck and let her be a part of the nest. In other words, she was not going to co-operate with Sam and Dean.

Thought was that after freeing the two captives, Dean would sneak out of the basement and up to Tony's and his partner's room. He would take care of them and get the detonators to the bombs, which Tony probably had because he was the leader after all.

Sam would approach the house from outside and, with help from Becky and hopefully Charles, draw the other two vampire couples outside.

Then they would do what hunters do best, kill the vampires.

XXXXX

Becky and Dean were walking through the thick forest. It was still night, but in probably an hour or two the sun would rise.

"There yet?" Dean asked and rolled his shoulders. He didn't like to have his hands tied behind his back with ropes. He felt so helpless, but it was necessary for the case.

"Soon. But, I think we should use the tape now," Becky said and looked apologetically at the Winchester.

"Alright," Dean sighed as he stopped.

Becky took out some duct tape from her pocket and then taped a bit on Dean's mouth. Now, he looked like a real prey.

"And so sorry again," the blond vampire added.

Dean rolled his eyes meaning to tell Becky to not worry about it. When they had been in Krissy's house, Becky had to hit Dean a few times, so it would look like they had been in a fight. So now Dean had a couple of bruises and an open cut on his eyebrow.

"Okay, now I have to..." Becky said carefully and pointed at Dean's arm.

Dean just nodded. Becky grabbed Dean by his upper arm tightly and then dragged him with rough motions as she began walking towards the nest again. Dean fought some against her because it had to look like she was doing this against his will. In this manner they continued their walk to the nest.

After a few minutes, Dean could see the house where the nest was located. It was big and white, but also very old and ragged. There was one girl standing outside the house. She had long brown hair that probably reached her waist. Her body was slim, but with nice curves. She was very beautiful.

Unfortunately that was the bitch Viola, Dean could easily deduce from Becky's previous information. When they reached Viola, the vampire sighed in irritation.

"About time," she snorted. "Rachel is waiting inside."

"I know," Becky answered with a bit of anger in her voice. It was clear that she did not like Viola, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

Becky opened the door to the house and then pushed Dean hard inside. He stumbled and managed not to fall flat on his face. The inside of the house was nothing to brag about. They were in one big room with almost nothing inside. There was no furniture or decorations, just a lot of candles and one big ceiling lamp that lit up the place. Then there were three mattresses in the corner. For the 'vampire slaves', Dean assumed. To the left there were stairs that led upstairs, were the couples slept and had their rooms. And, to the right there were stairs that led to the basement where the 'food' was.

Apart from Becky and Dean, there were two more individuals in the room. One male vampire with black hair and pale skin. This one had a ridiculous haircut that made him look like Elvis. This was Charles, Dean guessed. The other one was a female vampire with short red hair. That was Rachel if Dean remembered correctly.

Rachel approached Dean with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Well look what our little Becks brought with her..." She eyed Dean up and down. "Mmm, he looks delicious. Almost can't stop myself."

When she was in front of Dean, she began to caress his face and ran her fingers through his hair. God, how Dean hated that vampires liked to play with their food. He just wanted to cut her throat right here and now.

"Nice job honey," Rachel's eyes finally left Dean and she looked up at Becky. "But, I think he might be a fighter. Tie him up really good, would you?"

Rachel grinned at Dean again and bit her lower lip.

"I will," Becky said with a small bow.

"When you're finished you can go back and join Viola," Rachel ordered, patted Dean's cheek one last time and was then on her way upstairs.

"I will," Becky repeated.

It was only now that Dean noticed how terrified Becky was of Rachel. Her body trembled slightly, but you wouldn't notice it unless you looked for it. Being a slave and all, Dean thought that Becky would be treated a bit more roughly, but it didn't look that bad. He guessed that she had already gotten through the worst parts, torture and things like that. Now there was only obedience and fright. Well, that would end tonight.

Becky grabbed Dean's arm again and led him to the basement. At the end of the stairs there was a small shelf to the left with a flashlight on it. Becky took it and then opened the door which led to the basement. The basement was dark and dull. It seemed to be one big room with grey walls and concrete floor. On one side, there were two small windows near the ceiling that Becky had mentioned earlier. That was where the only light came from, apart from Becky's flashlight.

In the middle of the room there were five steel poles that reached from the floor to the ceiling. One middle-aged dark-skinned man was sitting on the floor and was tied up with ropes around one of the poles. Tied up to another, was a blond girl that looked to be about fifteen years old.

"Okay," Becky whispered and freed Dean's hands from his own ropes. "You're on your own from here. I will leave the flashlight so you can see something. And remember, the last room is Tony's, it's the third room."

Dean pulled off the duct tape from his mouth.

"I got this," he whispered. "Just remember the plan."

Becky nodded. "I will tell Charles to let you pass. Good luck."

With that she turned around and disappeared behind the door they just came in through, closing it after her. Dean slowly approached the middle-aged man first. He crouched down and spoke calmly to the man.

"Listen, I'm here to help you. But, I need you to be quite and do exactly as I say for this to work. Do you understand?" Dean really tried to sound as friendly as he could.

The man nodded his head wildly. Dean took out a sharp knife from his jacket and after a minute or so, cut off the ropes. The man took off the duct tape from his mouth and smiled with relief at Dean.

"Thank you…" He breathed out.

Dean simply nodded and then walked over to the girl. She was sniffing and trembling with fear.

"Shh…" Dean took off the duct tape that she had on her mouth. "I'm here to help, to get you out of here. Okay?"

"O-Okay…" The girl repeated with a hoarse voice.

The Winchester then cut off her ropes as well. He waved for the man to come closer.

"Alright, what are your names?" Dean asked when he had both individuals in front of him.

"David."

"Angela."

"Angela, David. Here is what we are going to do," Dean said in a serious tone. "I have a friend waiting in a car outside the forest for you two. You are going to go out through those windows there-"

Dean pointed at the two windows before continuing.

"-And you will not go right, not left, just go straight from the house to the forest. You will proceed until you come to a road and there is where my friend will be waiting for you. Are you with me?"

Both nodded.

"Good," Dean said approvingly. "But, first-"

Dean took out a plastic bag from his jacket that seemed to be filled with sand.

"-First, we will dust our clothes with this."

Angela and David looked at the bag with confusion.

"Sand? What for? Aren't we in a hurry?" David whispered anxiously.

"This-" Dean said and lifted up the bag. "Is dust after burning saffron, skunks, cabbage, and trillium. It will block our scent from the vampires. Just trust me and no more questions. Take off your jackets and trousers."

After some hesitation, David and Angela finally obeyed. Dean took off his own clothes as well and then dusted everything as good as he could. When they all had their clothes back on, Dean guided them to the windows and opened them.

"Stick together and make as little noise as possible. And just head straight."

"What about you?" Angela whispered with worry.

"I'm going to take care of these sons of bitches so they don't hurt anyone else."

Angela was about to say something, but Dean interrupted her.

"No questions and just do as I say."

She closed her mouth shut and began to climb through the window. David turned around to face Dean.

"Thank you," he said with tears in his eyes.

Then David too, climbed through the window and they were both gone.

Dean took a deep breath and felt relieved that everything had worked out thus far. He held back a smile. This was what he loved about their job, saving lives. This was what it had been all about from the very beginning. Then somewhere along the line, everything changed, got complicated and fucked up.

Dean took out a blade and a smaller knife from his pockets. And then he also took out one bottle filled with blood, dead man's blood. It worked as poison to vampires and could even paralyze them for some time. He dipped the knife in the blood. It was not much, but it would work.

He left the flashlight on the floor and thereafter quietly walked towards the door with both weapons in his hands. When Dean had opened the door and gotten to the stairs, he reminded himself to be careful so the stairs wouldn't make cracking noises. He placed each foot diligently and proceeded forward. When he reached the ground floor, he saw Charles sitting on a mattress in one corner. Their eyes met, but neither said anything. According to Becky, Charles was supposed to be on their side. Dean never trusted anyone to full extent and thought it was better to be on his toes. His gaze never left the male vampire and he had a firm grip around his weapons.

When he was at the stairs that would lead him to the first floor, Charles turned his head away from Dean. The Winchester decided that maybe now it was more important to focus on the six vampires upstairs than one vampire slave. Yeah, that seemed pretty logical. As he slowly walked upstairs he could hear giggling, laughing, moaning and kissing noises from the rooms. Well, at least the vampires were distracted enough to not notice Dean. This made it a little bit easier.

As Becky had told him, he walked past the first and second room. He stopped in front of the door to the third room. Right, this was Tony's and his chick Rachel's room. Dean prepared the knife with dead man's blood on it, he had only one shot at this. Better make it count. He hoped that he could hit Tony.

"Come on," Dean heard Rachel purr on the other side of the door.

Tony actually growled playfully to her in response. Right, so they were not aware of Dean yet. He had to use this opportunity. He took one deep breath, then swung the door open and threw his knife.

Even when being distracted, Tony had quick reflexes and dodged the knife. Instead, it hit Rachel that was lying under him on their bed. It only scratched her left arm, but it would be enough. Tony was furious, he looked at Dean with bloodshot eyes and threw himself at the hunter. Too much rage was never good when fighting since it narrowed your way of thinking. Dean managed to dodge the arm that was swung at him and Tony hit the wall instead, making a small hole. Dean jumped towards Rachel, whose body was limp because dead man's blood was already working. Dean grabbed her arm, lifted her up and placed his blade at her throat. Tony stopped an attack midway.

"That's right," Dean whispered threatening. "Don't move and don't warn the others, or her head will be rolling on the floor the next second."

Tony hissed at Dean angrily, showing his sharp vampire teeth. He was standing approximately ten feet away and was just in his underwear, like Rachel too. He was tall, muscular and had short black hair.

"What did you do to her?" Tony asked behind gritted teeth, after he saw that his mate was barely conscious.

"Dead man's blood," Dean smiled. "But, I said no talking unless I ask something. Or this will be the last you'll see of redhead."

Tony growled silently. Without leaving the male vampire's eyes, Dean took out his phone from his pocket. His eyes shifted quickly between Tony and the phone as he texted Sam. When he was done, Dean put the phone back and smiled mockingly at Tony.

XXXXX

Sam had been approaching the front of the house for a while now. He had dusted his clothes to hide his scent, but he could still be heard so he was careful. He was still a good distance away, but could see Becky and another vampire that had to be Viola. They were standing in front of the house, facing the forest where Sam was hiding.

Sam felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and picked it up. It was a message from Dean.

**Go.**

Sam took a deep breath. Alright. Sam nuzzled his way closer to the house, hiding behind trees, bushes and anything he could find. When he was about 60 feet away, he decided to stop. The grip around the big blade in his right hand tightened. Time to go. Sam jumped out of the bushes and started to run right at Becky and Viola.

Viola's eyes widened in shock and she took a step back out of surprise.

"Intruder!" she screamed so load that Sam wondered if even Krissy could hear it from where she was waiting in her car.

The others were notified at this moment, so now it was Becky's move. The blond flung herself at the other vampire and secured her arms behind her back. Viola's eyes looked at Becky with bewilderment and confusion. She opened her mouth to say something, but didn't have time because Sam had already reached them and swung his blade. Her head fell to the ground.

Becky's face was stained with blood and she breathed very heavily.

"You alright?" Sam asked her. "The others are coming."

"I'm fine," she whispered. "Let's do this."

Sam nodded. He grabbed Becky's arm and they backed a few steps away from the house. They heard people running in the house and soon four vampires and Charles were out. They were standing in a line in front of Sam and Becky.

"What's this?" A blond male vampire laughed. "One little intruder thinks he can take us on?"

"He is a hunter," a female vampire added and pointed at the dead Viola. "Should we get Tony?"

"Not necessary," the other female said and bared her fangs at Sam. "It's embarrassing if we can't take care of this little runt. And you know how cranky Tony gets when we interrupt him."

They all seemed to agree with this statement.

"Becky, come over here." The blond male ordered.

Becky was standing still next to Sam. She kept her gaze at the ground and her breathing rate increased out of nervousness. The blond male tipped his head to one side and snorted.

"Well, look at that. We have a traitor. And here I thought we were a family..."

This hit a nerve because Becky's head snapped up.

"Family?" She spat while her eyes watered. "You... You keep us as your servants! You make us do things we don't want to do! I don't want to see your ugly faces ever again!"

She took a deep breath and now her eyes gleamed with determination. "Charles, come over."

Every head turned to Charles, who didn't move a muscle. He stood in his place, shaking and had a regretful expression on his face.

'Don't tell me he is having second thoughts!' Sam thought nervously.

"Charles?" Becky repeated, but her voice had lost its previous confidence.

Charles slowly shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he whispered weakly. "I just don't see you and your friend winning. I'm really sorry, Becky..."

Becky's mouth hanged open and Sam's heart just dropped to his gut. Wait, so this was going to be five on two? Sam exhaled to calm himself. The other four vampires smiled arrogantly.

"Wise choice Charles," one of them said and smacked him on the back with his hand. "Now, let's take out the trash."

All five took a few steps forward towards Becky and Sam.

"Sam?" Becky squeaked.

"Yes," Sam said and bit his lower lip. "We seem to have a problem."

XXXXX

Just a second ago Dean had heard Viola scream. Then, the doors to the rooms next to Tony's room smacked open and the vampires had run downstairs to see what was going on outside. Now Dean was completely alone in the house, with his hostage and Tony. Dean made sure his blade was placed correctly at Rachel's throat.

"Now Mr. Tony," Dean said. "I have a little question for you."

Tony didn't say anything so the Winchester continued.

"You have these bombs on people and have them running around town. That's very dangerous, so I will need you to give the detonators to me. Or, you know, I will cut your girlfriend's head off."

Dean smiled at him sweetly.

"I don't have them," Tony hissed.

Dean rolled his eyes. Really? They were going down this road?

"Of course you have them, you're the leader. Now, just give them to me!"

Dean was losing his patience. The plan was that he was supposed to finish things off here quickly and then go and help Sam, since he had more vampires to deal with. Yeah, he had Becky. But, how good of a fighter was Becky really? Without question, Dean needed to help out Sam.

"Listen Tony-boy," Dean started to mock. "You-"

Dean stopped his sentence halfway and howled in pain as Rachel had just managed to kick him in the crotch. He lost his breath and bent over. Was dead man's blood wearing off already? As Dean was no longer supporting Rachel to stand up, she collapsed to the floor. Okay... The dead man's blood was still working, but she was recovering. Tony didn't think twice. When Dean's blade was no longer on his mate's throat, he swung a fist at Dean's face. For a moment Dean thought that he saw stars, but there was no time for recovery.

Tony grabbed Dean by the jacket and threw him onto the bed. He jumped on top of the Winchester and flashed his shark-like teeth at him. Then in a split second, he dove down and bit deep into Dean's neck. It felt like small knives were piercing through his skin. Dean cried out in complaint as the nest's leader was sucking his blood out, draining him slowly of power.

Dean grabbed Tony's hair and tried to pull him away from himself. Tony's bite was too firm and deep that it only hurt Dean more doing so. Dean's hand trailed then from Tony's hair to his eye instead and he pressed his thumb as hard as he could. The Winchester got a reaction from doing that. Tony screamed, immediately let go of Dean's neck and backed away.

As Tony had one hand on his eye and swore under his breath, Dean pressed his palm against his new open wound that was bleeding. He found a yellow scarf on the floor that probably belonged to Rachel, which he quickly picked up and wrapped around his wound to stop the bleeding. When he was done, the nest's leader seemed to have recovered. Dean knew he had not done too much damage to his eye, but he had bought himself some time.

"You didn't taste half bad," Tony said and licked his lips. "Maybe after I'm done with you, we will keep you for some time."

Dean saw from the corner of his eye that Rachel was sitting up, leaning against a wall. She was regaining her strength. Dean really had to finish things off with Tony before Rachel was able to fight again.

"Thanks, but no thanks."

Dean lifted up his blade, prepared himself. Tony hissed at him and revealed those damn teeth again. It hurt the Winchester's neck just to look at them. Then, the male vampire swung a kick towards his opponent. Dean jumped out of the way, onto the bed, and rolled over to the other side. Tony was really quick and followed him. He punched Dean in the stomach, and Dean grimaced. Then, the vampire grabbed his clothes, pulled Dean in and head-butted him. Everything went black for a split second and the Winchester stumbled back a few steps. He saw Tony getting nearer so he swung his blade and cut the vampire deep right across the chest. Tony grimaced.

Damn. Dean had forgotten about vampires' super speed, strength, agility and stamina. But even with that in mind, he honestly didn't expect Tony to be this good. The vampire straightened his back with a smirk on his face, not bothered by the wound anymore. It had probably already began healing. Dean let out an annoying sound.

Tony grabbed a nearby floor lamp and threw it at the Winchester. Dean dudged and when he looked up again, he saw a fist a few millimeters from his face. The impact sent him flying and he smashed into the wall behind him. Without waiting to get hit more, Dean lashed out a kick and hit Tony in the head. When the nest's leader stumbled on his own feet from temporary head spinning, Dean took his blade and bored it into his opponent's leg, making him scream. He twisted it around, before taking it out and stabbing the vampire in the stomach instead. Tony growled and bit down with his teeth on Dean's arm.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean swore angrily.

With his free hand, he punched Tony in the face, making him let go of Dean's arm. He removed his blade and was prepared to cut the damn vampire's head off, when something grabbed his leg and threw him off his feet. He landed hard on the ground and saw that Rachel was up on stumbling feet.

"You ready to go honey?" Tony asked.

"After you," Rachel breathed. "But lets just kill him. I don't want to eat this piece of shit."

They laughed and Dean exhaled tiredly.

"You're going to chit-chat or fight?" Dean shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Cause I can always come back tomorrow."

The vampire pair glared at him.

"That reminds me," Rachel said and the corner of her mouth twitched into a smile. She picked up a pink jacket from the floor and took out a metallic device from one of the pockets. "Your were looking for these right? Well, here is one of them."

Dean didn't quite see, she pressed a button or something on the device and afterward there was an explosion outside. It took a moment for Dean, but when he realized what just happened he went pale.

'No, the detonator!' Dean panicked.

When the pair saw the Winchester's worried expression, satisfied grins covered their faces. So it was not Tony that had the detonators, but his mate? It made some sense since Rachel was probably the one he trusted the most, but still. Dean grimaced. Someone of the three slaves were dead... He hoped it was not Becky.

'Please Becky, be alive.' He begged.

Without time to spare, Dean took out a small knife that was hidden in his shoe and threw it at Tony for distraction. The same moment he dodged, Dean rushed towards both vampires. He kicked Rachel in the ribs and due to her poor state, that sent her flying. Dean then kicked Tony in the fold of his knee, making him fall down. He then grabbed his blade on both ends and was now going to slice that damn head off.

Tony stopped the blade with his hands, wounding himself severely. Dean didn't give up. He pushed forward as hard as he could, making the blade only cut deeper and deeper into Tony's flesh. The vampire bit his lip and grimaced from the pain. Dean was just going to give one extra push that would cut both Tony's hands and head off when something strangely familiar happened.

The room was filled with blinding light, forcing Dean to shut his eyes. When Dean opened them again, he had a very weird feeling in his stomach. He was still in the house and on top of the male vampire, but something was different... Rachel was standing some feet away from them and had a confused expression on her face. She had another detonator in her hands, but that wasn't Dean's concern right now. He didn't see it, but he could feel a presence behind him. It terrified him since he had just talked to Cas who had told him that he didn't have much power to do things like this. This was someone else.

"Dean Winchester," A voice behind him said. "It's been a while, don't you think?"

'No. Not here, not now.' Dean thought even though he never wanted to have this encounter. Even if it was bound to happen at some point. No, just no.

It felt like Dean's heart dropped to the floor. His throat suddenly felt very dry and he took a nervous breath. Now, he was truly afraid.


	13. Unexpected Turn Of Events

**13: Unexpected Turn Of Events  
**

Dean didn't really dare to turn around. He knew that he had to, but for the moment he was paralyzed. His mind was blank. Tony, who Dean had momentarily forgotten, didn't wait for the hunter to come around. The Winchester didn't use the same force at the blade anymore and was distracted, so the vampire managed to finally push the Winchester off himself. Dean landed on the floor with the blade still in his hand. The sudden action from the vampire woke him up. His head snapped up to look at the new visitor.

It was a man, probably in his fifties. He was skinny, almost bald, had olive colored skin and small brown eyes. He was barefoot, but didn't look cold and he was wearing something that looked like hospital clothes. It was a pyjama of some sort that had white and light blue checkered pattern on them. He would not look threatening at all if it wasn't for his stale face expression and cold stare. What really made him stand out and made Dean's stomach twist were the burns that the man had on his face and hands. It was like some corrosive acid had eaten through his skin. It looked disgusting. The worst part was that Dean recognized it. Nick, Lucifer's vessel, had looked just the same. That could only mean...

"Michael," Dean finally blurted out and could still not believe this was happening.

Tony and Rachel looked at Michael curiously.

"I have waited a long time to finally see you again, Dean." The archangel's voice was monotone and calm.

Tony made an irritated sound.

"So the hunter brought backup," the vampire snorted. "Rachel-"

"I got it," the female vampire interrupted. "There may be two of you, but you won't get these anyway."

She smiled and did something to the second detonator in her hands. Dean's eyes widened in panic.

"NO!" The Winchester screamed and flung himself at the red-haired female.

He snatched the detonator from Rachel's hands, but it was already too late. A couple of seconds later, another explosion could be heard outside. Dean clenched his teeth together and threw the detonator in the ground in anger. Sam was counting on him... This was his part of the job and now another bomb had went off... That was two out of three. Becky...

Dean was shaking with anger when he glared at Rachel, hatred gleaming from his eyes. He was about to do something, but Michael caught his attention. The archangel was walking towards Tony. The vampire prepared for a fight. He flashed his teeth at his opponent and growled at him. Problem was, it was never a fight to begin with. Michael, easily dodged a punch that was directed at him and then placed his hand on Tony's head. White light shone from the vampire's eyes and mouth as he screamed in agony. Then, the nest's leader dropped dead to the floor.

Rachel lost her breath and was staring unbelievingly at what had just happened.

"T-Tony?" Her voice was barely audible.

There was a short silence and then tears started to run down from Rachel's cheeks. A sob escaped her lips and she shook her head.

"I would suggest that you leave now," Michael simply stated.

The female glared at him and her eyes were mixed with sorrow and anger. She took a step forward, ready to attack.

"I would not recommend doing that," the archangel warned in a threatening tone.

Rachel took a step back, afraid of the man in front of her. He basically reeked of power. Her gaze fell to the ground and she clenched her fists. Even though all she wanted was revenge, it was very clear that Michael was out of her league. She had no chance, not ever. But, she foolishly believed that with a whole nest by her side, there could be a slight chance. The red-haired vampire straightened her back and whipped away her tears.

"We will kill you," she hissed at Michael and tried to sound as confident as she possibly could. Then, she looked at Dean. "Both of you."

After that, she turned around and ran out of the room. Dean was about to go after her, but Michael's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"I think you have other things to worry about than a little vampire."

That was a nice way to put it. Dean didn't know what kind of damage Rachel could do. Would she run away on her own or would she interfere with Sam's fight? Either way, it didn't feel good. She had been Dean's responsibility and now she was on the loose. At least she hadn't set the third bomb off, which meant that Becky could still be alive. Dean slowly turned his gaze from the door back to Michael.

"We have a lot to talk about," the archangel said and looked the hunter deep in the eyes.

A chill was sent down Dean's spine.

XXXXX

The five vampires took a few steps forward, while Sam and Becky stumbled a few steps back. The vampires cracked their necks, knuckles and licked their lips.

"Time for a snack," one of them said and looked at Sam.

At the exact same time, Sam saw a little red light start blinking in Charles' collar. The hunter immediately realized what was going to happen next. He grabbed Becky's arm and started to run in the opposite direction, towards the forest. The vampires were about to follow, but were stopped because Charles' collar exploded with a load noise.

There was commotion among the vampires because those closest to Charles probably got hurt from the explosion. While they helped each other out and recovered from the shock, Sam and Beck managed to run deeper into the forest. They kept running until Sam found a good hiding spot that he had seen before. It was a den in the ground surrounded by large bushes. Sam slid across the grass into the den and dragged Becky down with him.

As they were sitting there, they could hear the vampires cursing and swearing in the distance. They were still at the house. Even if some of them were injured, they recovered quickly. Very soon, they would come after the hunter and the blond...

What worried Sam the most was that something was up. Dean was supposed to get the detonators and now one bomb had went off... It was bad, but the Winchester had to let one smile escape him because the timing had been ridiculous pure luck. Not only did it buy him and Becky some time, but it had also improved their chances in terms of numbers. Charles was out of the game, now it was two versus four.

Sam felt Becky trembling next to him. Well, maybe it was one versus four then...

"I don't want to die," Becky suddenly whispered as she closed her eyes.

Sam looked at the blond and saw that she was indeed very scared. It was understandable. Not only were they hiding from pissed of vampires, but she probably feared that the incident with Charles just now could have easily been her. Her bomb could have gone off just seconds ago...

"You won't die," Sam whispered back. He needed her to focus, to be strong.

Becky slowly shook her head and was almost hyperventilating.

"I-It's not just dying, it's... I'm a v-vampire now..."

Sam had no idea what she was talking about. Of course she was a vampire, she had been a vampire for months. What did she mean?

"I know," Sam just said. He wanted to calm her down. "But don't worry, I will get us out of this."

"N-No, it's just-" Becky bit her lip to stop tears that were so close to the surface. "If I die... I-I will go to purgatory, won't I?"

Sam was speechless for a second.

"How did you-?"

"So it's true. I h-heard it from some vampires."

Becky inhaled nervously and it looked like she was about to have a panic attack of some sort. Sam felt really sorry for her, but this was really not the time to do this. He sighed.

"Listen Becky..."

"I can't get it out of my head-" She continued in a high-pitched voice full of despair. "I-If I would go to purgatory, I w-would never see my family or friends again! I would n-never see you again either. It would be an eternity alone. I-"

Sam took Becky's hand in his and squeezed it hard.

"That's not going to happen," he said in a steady and serious voice. "I promise. Trust me."

The blond vampire looked up into the hunter's eyes and instantly felt a bit more relaxed. Her breathing rate slowed down to normal and she nodded to him in thanks. As she kept looking into his eyes, she raised her hand and caressed Sam's cheek, leaving red lines after her because her fingers had blood on them. Sam smiled at her, glad that she had cooled down and was feeling better. Then, unexpectedly, Becky leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his lips. Sam's eyes widened in surprise as Becky was pressing her lips against his own. He didn't even have time to wonder what was going on before Becky pulled away again.

Sam blinked a couple of times and Becky exhaled softly.

"Sorry," she whispered with a gentle and shy smile. "That was just in case."

Sam opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. Had Becky Rosen just kissed him? Yes, Becky Rosen had just kissed him. Sam didn't know what to think of that. Becky had gone through a lot lately and it had changed her. She was not the crazy girl he and Dean had once encountered, but she was still Becky... Did she have some sort of feelings left for Sam from her earlier obsession? Or was her actions due to the circumstances they now were in? Sam didn't want to complicate things. Whatever her reason was, it didn't matter. The only thing Sam knew was that they had to deal with these vampires right now and then he and Dean would help Becky so she could go back to her normal life again.

He heard the vampires run into the forest and one of them yelled that they should split up. Sam put his index finger to his lips gesturing for Becky to be quite. She gave him a nod of understanding. They could hear the members of the nest shouting provocative words, trying to lure Sam and Becky out. Then, after a minute or two, they heard one vampire approach their hiding spot. Sam knew they didn't have much time since vampires had very good hearing and it was only a matter of time before this one would hear a heartbeat, breath or movement. The hunter prepared a needle with some dead man's blood in it and nodded to Becky. She nodded back and then jumped out of their hiding place to distract the vampire.

"Well hello there sweetheart," a male vampire said and walked closer towards Becky. "Think you can take me on yourself? Where is your little hunter, Becks?"

At that, Sam jumped out from the bushes and immediately set the needle into the vampire's leg. He growled from the pain and was about to hit Sam in the head with his hand, but his legs failed him and he collapsed unconscious to the ground.

"There he is," Becky commented with a smile and pointed at Sam.

The Winchester took his blade and beheaded the unconscious vampire right on the spot, staining his own face with blood. He then swept the arm sleeve from his jacket across his face to get rid of the red liquid.

"That was easy," Becky breathed and looked up at Sam.

"Well, enjoy the moment. We don't have anymore dead man's blood and the others should have heard us by now, so I think we should go." Sam grabbed Becky's arm again and started to run back to the house.

"Found them!" A female vampire yelled.

Sam could hear her coming closer and he guessed the others were not far behind either. He just wanted to get to a more open space area where he could fight more freely. Around the house there were less trees and the forest was not as thick. That was his goal.

"She is just behind us!" Becky shouted.

Sam kept running and when they had finally arrived back at the house, he pushed Becky away from himself and turned around. The vampire that had been following them was right in front of him and swung a leg at him. She hit Sam in the ribs. The impact was very hard and Sam wondered if she had managed to break something. He moaned in complaint, but was quick and caught her leg while it was still in the air.

While the vampire tried to keep her balance on one leg, Sam swung his blade and sliced her stomach open. She cried out and fell to the ground. Sam jumped on top of her and with one swing, he chopped off her head like a guillotine.

"Sam," he heard Becky say.

The Winchester looked up and saw that the other two vampires were there and they looked pissed. He got off the dead vampire and stood up.

"Becky, this time I will need your help."

The blond vampire didn't say anything, but Sam could feel her nod. The hunter took a deep breath.

'Alright, here we go.' Sam thought and charged forward.

XXXXX

Dean stared at the person in front of him. The man Michael was possessing didn't look good. The hospital clothes were hanging loose on that slim body and the burns or whatever it was that he had everywhere, only seemed to be getting worse.

"So, what poor bastard did you use this time?" Dean muttered. "You know, _that_ is going to leave a scar."

Dean pointed at Michael's cheek where there was a wound that looked even more nasty than the others, with a little bit of flesh hanging on the side.

"This man's name is Robert. He was dying, suffering from cancer. He has sinned his whole life, so he told me that allowing me to possess him gave him a peace of mind before death. But, you're right." Michael's small brown eyes stared at Dean in a way that made the hunter uncomfortable. "Possessing Robert tears his body apart because _he_ is not my true vessel."

Dean swallowed and wet his lip with his tongue before he spoke.

"Yeah, you see... I thought we were past that," Dean joked lightly. "After the apocalypse and all... And by the way, no hard feeling about that."

Dean smirked, but Michael didn't look pleased at all.

"About Robert," the archangel started and took a few steps closer to Dean. "You have no right to judge my actions. He was already dying when I got permission to possess him. But, you..."

Michael shook his head and there was something dark in his voice. Maybe there was a bit more anger than usually, it was weird. The archangel was always calm and expressionless. Now, you could feel emotions flying all over the room. It took Dean by surprise.

"You kept saying 'no' to me, so I left you alone. Even if it meant going against destiny and everything that I believed in," Michael said behind gritted teeth. "Then you and your brother threw me into Lucifer's Cage, trapped me with my mad brother... So I have to ask you- Were you happy? Did you celebrate your success?"

The archangel kept walking closer to Dean and the Winchester backed away. Something was so very twisted in Michael's brown eyes that Dean started to get really afraid.

"And when I came back," Michael bit his lower lip and his eyes watered a bit. "I see that my brothers and sisters are cast out of their home, souls can't get peace and Hell is an equal mess! So I'm asking you Dean-"

The wall behind Dean stopped the hunter from backing away further. Michael had Dean backed up against the wall and was breathing heavily. He grabbed Dean's jacket with his hands.

"ARE YOU HAPPY? ARE YOU HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED?" He yelled in the hunter's face.

Dean couldn't say anything, he was speechless. He and Sam had stopped the apocalypse and Dean would never regret that, but he admitted that things didn't look too good now. Dean could see the regret in Michael's eyes and especially the sorrow...

The archangel let go of Dean's jacket and sighed.

"My father got me out of that cage for a reason, Dean." Michael's voice was a sad whisper now and his breath hit Dean in the face. "I wish it never came to this, believe me. I don't like violence, but this time I will make things right. This time, I will not fail or disappoint. This time, no matter the cost, I will make you say 'yes' to me."

Dean's heart skipped a beat. He slowly shook his head in disapproval and tried to keep his breathing under control. With the wall behind him and the archangel just inches away from him, the hunter felt more trapped than ever.

XXXXX

Krissy was so impatient that she was almost jumping in the driver seat. She treasured the thought that the two brothers didn't want her to get involved, but this waiting was killing her! It bothered her to not know everything as well. She knew that the brothers didn't want to tempt her with the hunt, and that was why the only information Krissy got was to wait on the road for two people. But, she had heard something that sounded like an explosion deep from within the forest. What the hell was that? Grenades, bombs, fireworks? The Winchesters didn't say anything about that, were they alright?

The brunette was drumming her fingers against the steering wheel when she saw two shadows emerge from the forest and she automatically grabbed the blade she had taken with her. As the shadows got closer and Krissy could see more clearly, they transformed into a middle-aged man and a girl about her age. They looked very tired and stressed out. When they saw the blue jeep that Krissy was sitting in, their faces had 'relief' written all over them. Krissy came to the conclusion that these were the two humans that the nest had held in captivity.

She waved at them to come inside. Both got into the back of the car and breathed heavily because they had just been running.

"Are you alright?" Krissy asked softly.

"Y-Yes. Thank you," the man panted. "Are you the friend that-"

"That's me. The name is Krissy," Krissy interrupted with a confident smile. "And you are?"

"David and Angela," the man said and pointed at himself and the girl.

Then both individuals in the back of the car exhaled and sunk down in their seats, happy to finally be free and out of that house.

"I have to ask," Krissy sighed. "Did you hear an explosion or was I just imagining things?"

"No. There was definitely an explosion," Angela reassured Krissy.

The brunette teenager's brows got together in worry.

"Do you know what-" Krissy started, but was interrupted by another explosion that sounded exactly like the last one.

"Fuck. That's it," Krissy said and shook her head. "Do you know how to drive?"

She looked at David. He looked very confused, but nodded.

"Y-yes," he answered. "Yes, I do."

"Good," Krissy said. "Then get the two of you the hell out of here."

Krissy was on her way out of the car, but Angela grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Drive to the town, David. I have to help my friends. Don't worry, Angela. My friends will take me home later."

Krissy got out of the car, didn't bother to close the door and headed straight for the forest. Seconds later, she could hear the door to the front seat slam shut, the car start and then drive away. Good, David and Angela were safe. But, what the hell was going on with Sam and Dean? Explosives? Were they alright? She knew they would disapprove, but she had to help them. Whatever was going on, it was definitely not part of their plan.

With a blade tight in her hand, she ran as fast as she could towards where Angela and David had just come from. She just hoped that she wouldn't be too late.


	14. Probably The Worst

**14: Probably The Worst**

Sam charged forward for the two vampires in front of him. He had only taken two steps when a loud explosion could be heard behind him. Surprised, the Winchester stopped and turned around. Viola's corpse that was just a feet away from the house, had just pretty much been blown up. One of the house's walls got stained with blood and parts of Viola were lying all over the place. Okay, that was two bombs out of three. Sam looked over at Becky.

The blond also stared at the remains of Viola. Her knees started to shake and she had to sit down on the ground. Becky seemed to be in some sort of trans or shock. She sat on the ground with a terrified expression on her face and just stared before her. Sam knew what this was about. There was only one bomb left and that one was on Becky's neck. It could go off any second now. She was freaking out. Sam sighed.

While Becky was shaking like a leaf, Sam turned around to face the two vampires again. It looked like he was on his own for now.

'Brilliant,' Sam thought in frustration.

Ahead of him, was one female vampire and one male vampire. Probably a couple. The female was a blue-eyed brunette and the male was green-eyed with dark blond hair. The green-eyed vampire had jeans and a black leather jacket and his mate matched him with a very similar jacket and a black leather skirt in addition to that.

The blue-eyed vampire hissed at Sam. She took off her jacket with smooth and elegant movements. Then, she tossed it at the side and it landed on the ground. Without further ado, she grinned confidently at Sam and rushed forward. The hunter automatically swung his blade in front of him to make his opponent keep some distance. The vampire however, had seen it coming. She slid across the grass and managed to duck under Sam's arm and blade. The hunter went for another swing, but the vampire stopped him by managing to get a good grip around his forearm. Sha laughed Sam right in the face for his failure. The Winchester really hated cocky vampires. And, did she forget that he had two hands? If she thought Sam only relied on his blade, she would be terribly mistaken.

With his other arm, Sam punched the vampire right in the face, probably breaking her nose. The female vampire yelped from surprise and pain as she stumbled backwards and fell on her bum. Sam then felt an elbow hit him in the ribs and he lost his breath. Right, there were two of them. Sam swung his blade and the green-eyed male bent backwards to avoid the hit. The hunter then kicked him in the stomach which made him move a couple of feet away, but nothing more. Sam sighed and looked quickly over at Becky again. She was still sitting lifelessly in the grass.

The female vampire had, without Sam noticing, ran up to him. She grabbed his clothes forcefully and pushed him into the nearest tree. Sam hit the back of his head which made everything start to spin for a few seconds. His head was clear fast enough to see a fist coming his way. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to avoid it and it hit him right in the face. He heard something crack and his nose hurt horribly. Sam grunted. So that was payback for _her_ broken nose, huh?

Sam threw a punch back, but the vampire actually jumped up in the air, grabbed a branch from the tree above her and kicked the hunter in the chest. Damn, the vampires' agility. With the tree being behind Sam's back, it made the impact very hard. Sam felt all air leave his lungs, he dropped to the ground and his blade fell out of his grasp. He coughed a couple of times and then crawled towards his blade, but heard the vampire land on the ground again.

He didn't get very far and felt a foot kick him in the stomach. Sam grunted from the pain, but reached for his blade. Just as his fingers wrapped around the handle, a foot stepped on the Winchester's hand. Sam grimaced and looked up. It was the dark blond male vampire… As the hunter had realized that, the brunette female behind him, stamped her foot on Sam's back, making him fall flat on his stomach. Before he could come to any conclusion about what to do, he felt teeth dig their way into his neck. The Winchester winced from the itching pain. With his one free hand, he grabbed a fistful of the vampire's brown hair and pulled forcefully in hope to move her away from himself. There was no such luck.

"Finish him off," he heard the male vampire in front of him order.

The female just moaned in return. She was enjoying this. No, this could not be the way Sam was going to die. That some vampire would suck his blood out and moan right into the hunter's ear out of pleasure. No, just _no_. The Winchester tried to throw the vampire off himself, but she was sitting comfortably on his back and whenever Sam moved, it hurt his neck badly due to the fangs that were drilled in it. To make it even harder for the hunter, the male vampire sat down and grabbed both Sam's wrists to make it difficult for him to fight back. Sam didn't stop trying, but it didn't look good. Not good at all. The female vampire kept moaning into his ear and Sam felt his strength slowly leave him.

'No, please no…' Sam desperately thought.

There was another moan, but it changed into a gasp. The teeth left his neck and Sam could feel that the weight that was on top of him before, was gone. He heard a swishing sound, then the male vampire in front of him cried out of pain and let go off Sam's wrists. The Winchester felt two hands grab his upper arm and pull him up to his feet. They were the hands of a certain blond vampire.

"Sorry," Becky smiled weakly.

Sam felt so incredibly relived. Becky had gotten herself together and could now help out. Not only that, but she had basically just saved Sam's skin.

"Better late than never," Sam simply answered and his eyes shone with gratitude.

Becky gave the Winchester a shy nod and then the duo turned their heads to the two vampires that had already gotten up to their feet.

XXXXX

Michael took two steps back from Dean, to give the hunter some space. That was very appreciated, even if it didn't make much difference in the long run.

"You will get one chance." Michael spoke calmly and confidently. "Will you let me in, Dean Winchester?"

Dean felt his breathing rate increase. What the hell should he do? He wanted to call Cas, but he knew his friend couldn't come anyway. Should he yell after Sam for help? But, then his brother too would have to deal with this archangel... No, Sam was safer outside fighting vampires. What should Dean do then? He had never seen Michael so upset and determined before. What possible measures would the angel use to get his way?

The Winchester felt that his mouth had gone dry and watered his lip with his tongue. He stared at the angel in front of him that patiently waited for an answer. Dean closed his eyes for a second and inhaled deeply. He couldn't believe that after all this time they were back on this road again. Oh well... He opened his eyes.

"And?" Michael asked.

"Yeah sorry," Dean shrugged his shoulders with a smile. "I think I'll pass."

Michael simply nodded.

"It saddens me that you say that because I really don't want to force you."

'Yeah right,' Dean thought sarcastically.

"I think you're itching for some old school revenge," Dean commented.

"I'm not driven by such simple human emotions, I just do what I must," Michael said. "Who tried to convince you before? It was Zachariah, wasn't it? He can be very cruel, but don't underestimate me. We have a lot of work to do and in the end, you will accept me."

The Winchester tried not to focus on the fact that Michael was heaven's front line warrior and could give the hunter quite a hard time.

"Try your best," Dean dared to say. "It will always be a 'no' to you, dick."

Michael eyed the hunter up and down, looked at all his wounds. His eyes stopped at the wound on the hunter's neck. Dean twisted around nervously in his spot.

"Vampires this time, was it?" The archangel asked.

Then he just pointed at Dean's neck with his index finger. Immediately, it felt like vampire fangs bit into the Winchester's neck. This time, on the other side, creating a new wound. Then there was the familiar feeling of your energy slowly slipping away from you, as you're losing your blood. Dean grimaced. It was not a pleasant feeling, but he could deal with this.

"That's all you got?" He spat.

"How about some cancer?" Michael asked.

"What?"

"Cancer," Michael repeated. "My current vessel was dying of lung cancer that had spread all over the body. Want to give it a go?"

Dean only had the chance to open his mouth before Michael snapped his fingers. The hunter collapsed to the ground because his legs were too weak to hold him. The pain was something new. His whole body hurt and he was so very weak. He lied on his back, on the floor, and didn't dare to move. If he moved even one inch, it hurt so bad. Every breath he took, it felt like his chest was going to explode. Dean moaned out of pain.

"That should hurt without some morphine or sedatives."

Dean glared at the angel. Then he closed his eyes, tried to keep his breathing to a minimal so that everything would hurt less.

"Will you let me in?"

Dean didn't answer and didn't plan to either. To open his mouth seemed like so much effort right now and talking would probably hurt. He just lied there on the floor and welcomed the cancer that was kicking his butt. He heard Michael huff in frustration.

"That's right, you're pretty accustomed to pain aren't you?" It seemed like the angel was talking more to himself than to Dean. "But, there was one time when you couldn't handle it..."

When Dean realized what Michael was talking about, his eyes snapped open. Then, the archangel placed his hand on his head.

The same instant, the hunter found himself in a dungeon. It smelled of sweat, blood and burned flesh. The air was hot and humid. The place was dark. Dean noticed that his feet and arms were chained to an operating table. The Winchester recognized this place. It haunted him every night when he closed his eyes. He looked around and saw familiar tools on the shelves.

He heard a door slowly open with a squeaking noise. Stepping inside, with a nasty grin on his face, was Alastair himself. Dean tried to break free, but the chains held him in place.

'Calm down,' he told himself. 'This is not real. The winged dick is just playing with your head.'

But, as Alastair started to walk towards him, Dean couldn't keep calm. The demon just had that effect on him. He struggled against his chains and Alastair laughed at the attempt. He walked up to Dean. With his skinny fingers, Alastair began to unbutton the hunter's shirt while humming a cheerful melody. When Dean's bare chest was revealed, Alastair moaned a sadistic 'yes'. Then, the demon picked up a small knife from his pocket. He always started with that small knife...

'It's not real. It's not real. It's not real.'

When the cold edge touched Dean's skin, it felt very real. Alastair used the knife as if it was a brush. He pretended to be Picasso and that Dean was an empty canvas. With overdramatic gestures, he played with his knife and created all kinds of shapes on Dean's chest. Now and then, he would step back to take a look at his work. It was very humiliating, but only the beginning of what the demon was capable of. As Alastair continued, Dean winced from the pain, but tried to not make a sound.

When Alastair was satisfied with his painting, he stabbed Dean with the knife in his right leg and left it there. He then turned around to get a more fun tool. Dean knew that this was child's play for Alastair and he was not serious yet. Was Michael really going through with all of this? The whole routine?

"This is not going to work!" Dean shouted out. "I will never be broken by him ever again!"

There was a moment of silence.

"Fine," echoed a voice through the dungeon.

Then, Dean was back at the vampires' nest again with Michael in front of him.

"You _would_ break," Michael clarified. "But, it would take some time and I don't really have that."

"So you're leaving? That's great." Dean smiled sarcastically at the angel.

"What always goes through to you is your brother. When it comes down to it, it's always about the Winchesters."

Dean's stomach twisted.

"I can just go out and kill him right now if you don't say 'yes'. How does that sound?"

The hunter wanted to play it cool, but couldn't.

"Don't you dare touch Sammy," he said before he could stop himself.

Michael smiled.

"He dies and his soul can't go to heaven because my home is closed. So, he finds no peace. And you're left here, with the guilt that you could have saved him with just one simple word."

Dean gritted his teeth and clenched his fists together.

"We don't play by your rules," the Winchester whispered angrily.

"Well, let's negotiate after your brother-"

Dean flung himself at the archangel. He knew it was no use, but he couldn't help himself. Michael took out his angel blade and before Dean even reached him, he cut Dean across the stomach. The hunter moaned and fell to the floor. He placed a hand on his wound and that's when he got an idea. He rolled over on his stomach. With the blood that poured out of his wound, Dean discreetly started to draw an angel banishing sigil on the floor.

"Would you promise not to hurt Sam if I say 'yes'?" He asked calmly to buy some time.

Michael took two steps closer to Dean.

"Of course," the archangel answered.

Dean was quite for a few seconds. The sigil was almost...

"What would you-" He started.

Michael kicked him in the ribs. Dean groaned from the pain. He looked over and saw that the angel smudged over his drawing with his foot.

"You really thought that I wouldn't notice?" The archangel seemed pissed now.

He hoisted his blade up in the air and before Dean could get out of the way, the angel pierced it through the hunter's right leg to keep him in place. Dean screamed and closed his eyes. Michael leaned over Dean, grabbed his clothes with both hands and brought the hunter a little bit closer to himself.

"Listen to me now, Dean." Michael started in a serious voice, but never continued his speech.

Dean opened his eyes. It was like the angel had suddenly forgotten about the hunter. Michael's gaze seemed somewhere far away and he was extremely focused on whatever it was. The Winchester looked down. He saw that the archangel had accidentally grabbed Dean's necklace along with the hunter's clothes. So, wait... Was Michael-

The archangel let go of the Winchester's clothes and Dean studied him carefully. Michael grabbed the angel blade that was inside of Dean's leg and removed it with a quick movement. Dean grimaced and bit his lip to not make any sound. Then, the archangel tapped the hunter's forehead with two fingers and the Winchester was like new again. Completely healed and completely confused.

"Not yet, Dean Winchester." Michael said. "But you will see me again very soon."

Then, after the sound of flapping wings, he was gone. Dean blinked a couple of times in disbelief. What the hell just happened?

XXXXX

Sam and Becky were incredibly in sync. First, Sam rushed forward and kicked the male green-eyed vampire in the stomach. This sent the blood-sucking predator flying backwards. Becky had gone for the brunette. The blond gave the blue-eyed vampire a couple of punches and then managed to secure the brunette's arms behind her back. Lastly, Becky sunk her teeth down to the vampire's throat, just to keep her a little bit better in place.

After kicking the male, Sam turned around and headed towards Becky who had the other vampire in a tight grip. He took his blade and stabbed the brunette in the stomach. She gasped out of pain.

"Now!" Sam yelled to Becky.

Becky quickly removed her teeth from the other's neck, let go of the brunette's arms and jumped out of the way. Sam took out his blade from the female's stomach and then with one heavy swing, cut her head off. The head hit the ground and was soon followed by the body. The duo looked up at each other and nodded. That had been a work well done. Just one second later, Becky's eyes traveled somewhere behind Sam and then widened.

"Look out!" She screamed.

Sam only had time to turn around, then his face met a furious fist. For a split second everything went black, but the hunter came around long enough to feel how his body hit the ground. Sam pulled himself up with his arms and had a metallic taste in his mouth. He spat the blood that had gathered in his mouth out and looked up. Becky was having a fist fight with the dark blond vampire and she was losing… Sam had to help. He got up on stumbling feet, nearly falling, but found support by a nearby tree. His grip around the blade hardened and he took a deep breath.

Becky was lying on the ground with the male vampire leaning over her. With some last resort, the hunter rushed forward and swung his blade at the green-eyed vampire's throat. He hadn't used enough force because the blade only cut halfway. Sam growled in irritation, took out the blade and did another swing that this time successfully cut the head off. The sound of when the head hit the ground was painfully pleasant because it meant that it was finally over.

Sam sighed out of exhaustion. He felt his head spinning and he fell to his knees. He had lost a lot of blood when that female bit his neck... He looked up and saw that Becky had gotten up to her feet. She was a mess too with dirty clothes and blood all over her. Sam knew she would hate it, but she looked like a real vampire now. Her fangs were still out and she had blood around her mouth and teeth from when she had bitten that other vampire.

"We are alive," Becky muttered happily and brushed off some dust from her clothes.

"I promised you, didn't I?" Sam smiled.

His whole body ached with pain and he grimaced before speaking again.

"We have to check on Dean too, but I think he should be alright."

XXXXX

Krissy tried to keep calm, but everything was overwhelming. She loved her new life, but a part of her had missed this too. Hunting. Obviously, she wouldn't go back because it was not good for her. But… It bothered her that she could save lives, but didn't. Now, she had to. It was Sam and Dean. God, if anything would happen to either of them, she would never forgive herself. She was the one that suggested that they should take on this hunt. It would be her fault if something went wrong. And after hearing those explosions, she just knew that she had to go.

She ran through the forest for what felt like forever. Finally, she saw small lights and a house. That was it! The nest's location! Krissy increased her speed and was soon at the house. There was nothing there, no fighting, nothing. Panic rose up inside of her, but she tried to keep calm. She decided to walk around the house.

When she was on the other side, she saw something horrendous. There were vampire corpses lying around here and there, with their heads cut off. There were even some other body parts and blood on the grass and house wall. Krissy also noticed Sam. He was on his knees and looked like he was going to pass out any second. In front of the hunter, was a blond vampire. She had blood around her mouth, which probably meant that she had bitten Sam before, her fangs were out and her eyes were glued to the Winchester.

Oh God. Sam was going to get killed… For a split second Krissy's body froze and it hurt in her chest. No. Not now. Not today. Not right in front of her. Krissy clenched her teeth together in anger and rushed forward as fast as she could.

XXXXX

What happened next was surreal. Sam was exhausted, but he knew that he had to check on Dean. With a gentle smile, Becky took a step forward towards him and stretched out her hand to help Sam up on his feet. There was a faint sound of feet running on the ground and Sam suddenly noticed that Krissy was a couple of feet behind Becky. The hunter was surprised to see the teenager. He was about to ask her what she was doing there, when he saw the blade in her hands and her furious face expression. Sam's eyes widened in horror and his stomach hurt.

"Krissy, NO!" Sam cried out.

The Winchester flung himself forward, with the hope to push the blond out of Krissy's way. His fingers just managed touch Becky's waist, when Sam suddenly saw red and something wet splashed on his face. Sam's arms encircled Becky's torso, when he heard something hit the ground. The Winchester snapped his head to the side. He was confused and couldn't process what it was. He saw a ball with blond hair lying on the grass beside him. Sam's stomach twisted. Oh God. Oh God. Was that-?

Then, Becky's body became loose in his arms and dropped on top of him. Sam fell backwards and landed on his bum from the weight. Something wet was pouring on him. His shirt and trousers got very wet, very quickly. He looked down. There was blood, so much blood coming from... Becky's neck. Oh, God. He could see every single detail. The flesh, bone... The hunter had seen it so many times before, but never had it been so disgusting and wrong. Sam looked at the ball of blond hair again. His hands started to shake and he felt very weak, but somehow he managed to delicately push Becky's body off of him. Then he crawled towards the ball of blond hair. Even if he originally refused to believe it, he knew that it wasn't a ball… It was a head... Becky's head.

With his fingertips, Sam slowly turned the head so that it no longer faced the ground. When Becky's face was facing upwards, Sam's breath got stuck in his throat. His eyes watered and a strange sound escaped him.

"B-Becky..." He sniffed.

Her blue eyes were wide open in her skull and it felt like she was staring right at him.

"S-Sam? What's wrong?" Krissy asked with confusion and worry in her voice.

Sam heard her, but couldn't answer. Krissy had killed Becky... Worst part of it all was that Krissy had done nothing wrong, nothing. She didn't know about Becky. She only did what Sam and Dean had done their entire lives, killed a vampire. Still... This was so wrong, so twisted. Sam kept staring at the head lying on the ground. With a trembling hand he caressed Becky's soft cheek.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I'm sorry, I'm s-sorry..." The Winchester cried, ignoring that Becky could no longer hear him.

He closed his eyes and buried his hands in his own hair. Tears ran like two rivers down his cheeks and there was nothing that could stop it. He inhaled deeply, but it was like he couldn't breathe. He remembered their earlier conversation. How he had promised her that she wouldn't die. How Becky had been terrified of Purgatory... That's where she was right now. And let's be honest, how long would Becky survive in Purgatory? It was only a question of time.

Sam smashed his fists on the ground. He was conflicted. On one side, he wanted to yell at Krissy and tell her what she had done. On the other, he didn't want her to feel guilty. Because she shouldn't. Or should she? He had no idea.

Sam felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Did something happen to Dean?" Krissy asked carefully.

Dean. He still had to check on him. Oh, God... What would he tell Dean? That Krissy... Sam shook his head and took a deep breath. He needed to get a grip on himself. The Winchester opened his eyes and looked at Becky's face again. The image was like a dagger to his heart. With one hand he closed the vampire's eyelids, so that Becky would look somewhat more peaceful.

"Did... Did you know her?" Krissy asked and was obviously referring to Becky.

Sam didn't plan to answer that question.

"We need to check on Dean," he simply said and swept away his tears.

He shot Becky one last glance. Krissy was very confused. She felt that something wasn't right, but she couldn't place her finger on what it was.

"Sam, What-" She started, but never finished her sentence.

Sam heard Krissy grunt and looked up. What happened next, happened in just a couple of seconds. A vampire, a red-haired vampire in only her underwear had suddenly appeared and had kicked Krissy so that the girl fell to the ground. Where the hell had that vampire come from? Still a bit in shock after Becky, Sam sat like paralyzed on the ground. Krissy got up to her feet and the redhead picked up something from the grass. Wait, was that-? That was Sam's blade! The Winchester got up to his feet.

Krissy was about to attack, but the vampire had already reached her. She stabbed Krissy in the stomach with the blade. Krissy cried out in pain and grimaced. Her own blade slid out of her hand and she panted from exhaustion. The vampire took out the blade and sliced the young hunter once again, but this time on the throat. Krissy fell backwards.

It was too much for Sam. His mind and body had already trouble processing what had just happened with Becky. Now Krissy... What the hell was going on? There shouldn't be anymore vampires. They had killed them all, right? Sam felt like he was going crazy. He was weak, but the events pumped adrenaline into his body. When he saw the young brunette hit the ground, he was furious.

"NO!" He screamed.

He grabbed the blade Krissy just had dropped. The red-headed vampire swung at Sam, but the hunter dodged. Then, with all his might, he did one last swing and cut that damn ugly head right off. Sam panted heavily and then heard a cough behind him.

"Krissy!"

Sam almost threw himself at the ground to sit beside her. He looked at her wounds and tried hard not to panic. The one on the stomach was too damn deep. But, the one on her throat was even worse... She was loosing so much blood... He quickly took off his jacket and pressed it against her throat to stop the bleeding.

"I have to call an ambulance," He mumbled.

Krissy looked up at Sam with watered eyes. She coughed up some more blood, smiled and shook her head towards the hunter. He knew what she meant. It was too late. The blade had cut halfway into her neck. The ambulance would never make it in time. Sam knew this full well, but still refused to accept it.

"D-David and Angela are s-safe," Krissy said in a hoarse whisper.

Still a hunter. Here she was, lying on the grass, bleeding to death, but still worrying about others. A weak smile found its way on the Winchester's lips.

"Shh..." Sam whispered and patted her hair gently. "Save your energy. I-"

"D-Don't blame yourself for this," Krissy said, her voice only a whisper. "I came on my o-own free will and just didn't see t-that bitch behind me."

Sam shook his head. How could this young girl be so brave? She coughed up more and more blood and her breathing sounded raspy. She wrinkled her face and tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"I... T-Tell Aiden and Josephine t-that I'm sorry. I love t-those damn bastards..." Krissy's voice cracked. "A-And tell them that I'm going to miss the math test. Damn, I studied so hard for that shit."

Sam chuckled at the joke, but then the laughter turned into a sob that he couldn't control.

"B-but it's okay..." Krissy said and Sam didn't know if she tried to calm herself or Sam. Her voice was more quite for every time she spoke. "I-I will finally see my mom again, right? It's been s-so many years... And I will see dad too..."

She closed her eyes shut and bit her lip. Sam felt tears running down his already wet cheeks. He tried to block out some of his thoughts, but just couldn't. Was Krissy really going to see her parents? Heaven was closed. She would just be lost, she... No, she was not going to die! He would- He would somehow get her out of this! Sam reached into his pocket for his phone. There was no time to lose.

Krissy's mouth moved. She tried to say something, but Sam couldn't understand. He started to panic. The girl looked more and more relaxed, peaceful even.

"Stay with me Krissy," he ordered.

Krissy's mouth moved a little bit again. He heard her exhale and then she was still.

"Krissy? Krissy!"

When she didn't answer him, he checked her breathing. She was not breathing. Sam put his hands on her chest and started CPR, trying to get her heart to start again. He kept going without a good result and only after a couple of minutes, he realized that with every push he helped even more blood to pour out of the wound in her stomach. Not to mention the cut in her throat. It was useless...

The Winchester stared at the fragile little body. The once beautiful girl was now all covered in blood and terribly pale. She had been somewhat like a noisy, annoying, but lovable little sister to the brothers. Too young to meet this fate. Hopelessly, Sam wrapped his arms around Krissy's slim body and pulled her in for a tight hug. He buried his face in her messy hair.

"Not you too..." He cried silently.

XXXXX

Dean stayed on the floor for a couple of minutes. He tried to piece everything together. Michael had touched his necklace... Did that mean that Michael had talked to God? What did he mean with 'Not yet'? Was it not the right time? So that meant that Michael would be back for him? So God had a plan after all?

Dean took a deep breath. He got up to his feet and was surprised how well he was feeling. No exhaustion, head spinning, nothing. The angels healing power was amazing. He scratched his neck and remembered that he earlier had a wound there from a vampire bite. Right! Vampires! They had been on a hunt! Sam!

Dean got out of the room and hurried down the stairs. He was angry at himself for forgetting their hunt, but he really hadn't expected running into Michael. That had sent him completely off track. When he came down to the ground floor, he ran to the door leading outside and burst it open.

Outside was a mess, with vampires and their heads lying around. It was when Dean noticed the remains of Rachel, that he got worried. Dean had been responsible for the red-headed vampire, but Michael had let her run away. Had she been trouble? Then, Dean scanned the area even more.

The scene Dean was greeted with made his heart ache and his breath stop in his throat. Sam was sitting on the ground, covered in blood from tip to toe. Krissy was lying lifelessly in his lap. Her stomach and throat were cut open and blood was still pouring out from the wounds. A couple of feet away was Becky. Dean blinked. Did he see that right? Becky's head and body were lying next to each other, separated.

Dean felt sick, he was close to throwing up. He placed a hand over his mouth, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose. After a minute, he looked at Sam again. He was crying, no... He was weeping. His little brother's body was trembling. He looked up at Dean and spoke to him in a broken, empty voice.

"W-Where were you?" He asked accusingly.

The comment hit him right in the gut. Dean's eyes stung. He felt tears coming to the surface as he shook his head. His legs felt weak, so he sat down on his knees and felt totally hopeless. He stared at the ground. W-Why? Sam and Dean were supposed to be good at this, they had been doing it for years...

Dean buried his face in his hands and let the tears fall. This had to be their worst hunt in a long time.


	15. Who Are You?

**15: Who Are You?**

The whole thing was just messed up. The Winchesters had failed in so many ways that it was not even funny. The brothers were standing next to each other, but neither was entirely present. Their minds were drifting away. Sam and Dean had not said much to each other. They had cried and grieved in silence over their loss. After some time of that, without saying a word, they had picked themselves up from the ground. Then, they had decided that a hunter's funeral was fit for both Krissy and Becky. The brothers didn't cry during that, just watched the bodies burn away with stale face expressions. It seemed like it was part of their job by now, to see their loved ones disappear.

The Winchesters cleaned up their mess at the nest and then drove to deliver the news. To deliver the _bad_ news to Josephine and Aiden. To tell them that Krissy was dead. It was not pretty and the teenagers didn't take it well. And, it didn't matter what Sam or Dean would say, both Winchesters could see that a spark had lit in Josephine's and Aiden's eyes. That spark was revenge. Despite everything that the Winchesters told them, Josephine and Aiden _would_ start hunting again. They would search out vampires, kill them and hope to get some satisfaction from that. And, so this circle of hatred, death and supernatural continued. There was no end to it.

Sam never told Dean that Krissy had killed Becky and Dean didn't tell Sam about Michael. They had both gone through a lot. Not just today, but the past few days had been pretty rough. Neither of the brothers felt like talking to the other, they were still not cool with each other and needed some space. But, both knew that they had to talk to each other eventually. Just not right now. Sam went to the hospital to attend all of his wounds. Dean was good to go since Michael had healed him. So, the older Winchester and his sweet Impala took off as fast as they could.

XXXXX

Dean had been driving for several hours. He didn't even know exactly how many it had been. He just wanted away from that small town where their hunt had taken place. Actually, he wanted away from everything. He wanted away from the problems, memories, life... Away from the pain and the emptiness that he felt inside. He knew that it didn't matter how many miles he would drive, none of it would go away. But, he didn't know what else to do.

The Winchester didn't even have his music on, he drove in complete silence. He just stared at the road and continued forward. His stomach suddenly growled in complaint. That's when Dean remembered that he had not eaten anything since... Yesterday? He was not that hungry, but knew that he had to eat. Against his own will, he turned right the next chance he got and drove into a town.

After driving around the town for half an hour, Dean finally found a restaurant. He didn't bother to check what it was called. Dean parked his car and went in. The inside was rather nice. The yellow walls and green furniture gave the room a feeling of warmth. Dean took a seat at one of the tables and a waitress quickly approached him. She was beautiful. She had long blond silky hair and her eyes were a mix of green and blue. She looked Dean up and down, checked him out. Then, she smiled at him with perfectly white teeth. She liked what she saw.

"What can I get you, dear?"

Dean noticed a name tag on her shirt that said 'Amanda'.

"Well _Amanda_," Dean started.

He picked up his menu, was about to open it, but decided not to.

"Do you have burgers?" He simply asked.

"We do," she smiled. "You want me to get you one?"

"That would be perfect."

"Anything to drink?" Amanda asked.

"Beer."

"What kind?"

"You choose, honey."

"Alright," Amanda said and wrote everything down on a small piece of paper. "Anything else?"

"I'm good," Dean answered.

"I bet you are," Amanda said a bit seductively and winked at Dean. "One burger and beer coming right up!"

Then, she turned her back and went to do her duties. Dean was almost positive that she was into in him. Somehow he himself didn't feel anything which was weird because she was very beautiful, but he just... Didn't feel like it. The hunter stared at a painting hanging on one of the walls while waiting for his meal. Then, he heard something behind him.

"Say yes..."

Terrified, Dean spun around. His heart beat so fast that he thought it would jump out of his chest. But, he only saw a little kid and a woman sitting some tables away from him.

"Please say 'yes' mom!" The boy pleaded. "I want to go to Disneyland!"

"We'll see, but if you keep nagging there will be no trip." His mom said harshly.

They boy went silent and continued eating his food. Dean let out a breath of relief. God... Would he be on edge like this all the time now? It felt so weird. It was like he just waited for Michael to come for him again. Man... The archangel had already visited him once and he had made it clear that the next one would be the last...

Dean grabbed the amulet from his necklace subconsciously. Only when it got warm, the hunter realized that the 'connection thing' was happening again. This time, it was different though. He didn't get any sort of information. It was more of a sensation. He wasn't sure. But, it felt like God wanted to prove him something. That the latest events were meant to teach him something.

Dean let out a huff of irritation. He rapidly took off his necklace and put it on the table. He stared at the amulet. Ever since he got his necklace back everything started to go wrong. Maybe he should just leave it here? Or put it in the trash can?

"Hey you."

Dean's head snapped up. Amanda was back with a delicious smelling burger and a beer. She put everything on the table in front of Dean.

"Nice necklace," she purred.

"Thanks," Dean mumbled.

He grabbed the bottle and took a big gulp of his beer without looking at her. Amanda seemed a bit disappointed with the hunter's lack of interest in her and walked away. Dean put his necklace back on. How naïve... Who was he kidding? Things had already been bad before he got the necklace. Throwing it away now would just be unfair to Adam and make the whole trip to Hell useless.

The Winchester looked at his burger. He wasn't hungry, not really. He felt a bit sick instead. He sighed and took the burger unwillingly in his hand. That's when he felt someone grab his shoulder. Dean's muscles tensed up immediately. As he abruptly turned around, he used one hand to smack the hand that was on his shoulder away. His other hand aimed at the throat that was in front of him and his fingers tightened around the skin to strangle the enemy.

He saw that his attacker was the Disneyland kid's mom. Dean's grip around her throat loosened a bit.

"Y-You dropped your n-napkin..." She said in fear with a hoarse voice.

The Winchester could in fact see a napkin in one of her hands. He looked at her face again and saw that she was scared to death. He took a look around and saw that everyone in the restaurant had gone quiet and stared at them. Her little kid that was still at their table had tears in his eyes. Dean let go of the mom and took a step back.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered in a broken voice.

What was wrong with him? He nearly beat up a woman... Dean took out his wallet and put some money on the table and left the restaurant instantly, leaving his beer and unfinished burger behind.

When he was once again outside, he took a deep breath. He didn't know what to do with himself. The past hours he had just been on the road with no destination. Man... He and Sam had screwed everything up so bad. They had no leads on Abaddon, Metatron or Michael. Castiel was losing his powers and everything just... Dean buried his face in his hands. He stood still for a couple of minutes until someone almost knocked him over. Dean opened his eyes and saw a teenage boy on a bicycle, passing by. He had probably hit Dean with the steering wheel.

"Watch it!" The Winchester shouted angrily.

"Sorry!" The kid shouted back.

Dean froze. That voice...

"Ben?" Dean mumbled to himself.

The teenager continued cycling further and further away from him. The hunter shook his head in bewilderment.

"Ben?" Dean repeated dumbfounded and kept staring at the boy.

The Winchester didn't know what got into him, but he began to run after the kid.

"Ben!" He shouted with anxiety in his voice.

Dean couldn't believe it. Was he just imagining things?

"BEN!"

The teenager turned his head and looked confused. Dean finally caught up to him and the boy stopped. The Winchester examined him. The brown messy hair, those brown eyes... He had changed, gotten taller, but it was definitely Ben. The hunter would recognize that kid anywhere. Suddenly old memories came rushing in. Dean remembered how he would make Ben breakfast, play with him, give him advice... He took a closer look at the boy. Ben was wearing regular jeans, a dark blue T-shirt and a black leather jacket. Dean chuckled. The resemblance between him and Ben was sometimes ridiculous. Joy spread through the Winchester's whole body and he cracked a smile.

"Ben..." Dean said again and couldn't stop himself, so he smiled from ear to ear like a maniac. "I can't believe it's really you."

Ben blinked a couple of times in surprise.

"Do I know you?"

The sentence hit like a dagger to his heart. Dean opened his mouth, but closed it again. That's right. Castiel had whipped out his memories of him... Suddenly the joyful feeling turned into something unpleasant.

"Eh, no... I guess you don't," Dean said and laughed at his own stupidity. It hurt that the boy who meant so much to him didn't even know his name. "I'm Dean. I... I'm an old family friend. I knew you when you were a child, but you were probably too small to remember."

Dean just bent the truth a little. He had no idea why he was doing this. He should turn around and just walk away, but he couldn't stop his mouth from talking. And, it felt so damn good to see Ben again.

"I have never heard of you," Ben said a bit awkwardly and raised one eyebrow.

"Yeah I... I moved to Europe many years ago and have lived there. I moved back to the States just recently. But, it's nice to see you. You have gotten so tall."

He ruffled Ben's hair. The boy jerked back a little and looked weirdly at him.

"How did you know it was me?" Ben asked.

Dean sighed. Why was this kid so damn suspicious? He just wanted to have a nice reunion, was that really too much to ask? After everything that he has been through?

"Lisa sent me photos of you now and then," He continued lying. "When I saw you pass by, I recognized you. I wasn't entirely sure, but luck was on my side I guess."

Ben just nodded and then silence surrounded them. Dean scratched the back of his head and just kept staring at Ben. He could see that it was starting to make the teenager uncomfortable and that he was preparing to leave. Dean didn't want Ben to leave, not yet. He tried to come up with something that would be most appropriate in this situation to make the teenager stay for a while longer. Problem was that he was too thrilled to come up with anything good. He looked at Ben with a genuine smile and said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Hey, let me buy you something. Soda, anything. Whatever you like."

Ben made a grimace.

"No. No, thank you," he said softly.

Dean closed his eyes. He was so damn stupid. He couldn't lie that he was a bit disappointed with Ben's answer, but it was his own fucking fault. The hunter shook his head.

"Yeah, I mean- No you're right. Don't go or take anything from strangers. It's important. It's good that you know that. I just..."

Dean sighed. What the hell was he doing? Why did he keep interacting with this kid? No matter how much joy it brought him, he should leave Ben alone. For the kid's own sake.

"I'm playing soccer with some friends," Ben started delicately. He looked a bit guilty. Apparently Dean was not that good at hiding emotions. "If you like, you can come and watch."

Dean smiled.

"Yeah, that would be great."

"Alright," Ben said and smiled for the first time since their conversation started. "The field is not far away and it's just me and some friends playing against a couple of other guys."

"Sounds good enough," Dean said. "Let's go!"

Ben grinned. The younger showed the way and the Winchester followed happily behind. They were about to walk past his Impala, so Dean stopped. He just couldn't help himself. He had to ask.

"Hey," he said to Ben. "What do you think of that car?"

The Winchester pointed at his baby and Ben looked at the car intensely. After a few seconds, the teenager nodded.

"It's badass," he said. "I would like to have one."

Dean grinned.

"Yeah... Maybe someday," he teased.

Ben looked confused, but Dean just shook his head.

"So you like cars?" The hunter asked.

"Oh yeah," Ben said casually. "Who doesn't? They're awesome."

Dean laughed and ruffled Ben's hair again.

"That's my boy!"

Ben gave him a strange look again and Dean realized he was being too familiar with him. The Winchester put his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat.

"So, where were you guys playing again?" He asked, changing the subject.

"This way," Ben answered.

They continued their walk and Dean could not remove the smile that was glued to his face.

XXXXX

Sam was in a hospital and was lying in a hospital bed. He was wearing clothes that the staff had given to him and had bandages all over his body. He hated hospitals... Over the years, both he and Dean had gotten so used to Castiel's powers that they had actually forgotten how it was before they met the angel.

The younger Winchester sighed and sunk deeper into his pillow. He couldn't stop thinking about their hunt. How? Just how had they managed to get both Becky and Krissy killed? He closed his eyes and pushed back the memories. That's when his phone rang.

Sam opened his eyes and took a deep breath. His phone ringing could only mean bad news. Because, when did they get good news these days? The hunter picked up his phone and saw that it was Castiel who was calling. This surprised him a bit. What had happened? Sam answered.

"Hello?"

_"Hello Sam,"_ Castiel said on the other end of the line.

"What's the matter? Why are you calling?" Sam asked and could not hide the hint of worry in his voice.

_"I have some information that I think you would be interested in,"_ Casitel said._ "We got information of a location where Gadreel will appear."_

Sam quickly got up into a sitting position. His heart rate increased. He tried to stay calm and focused, but was too excited.

"What? Where? When?" He asked eagerly.

_"We suspect he will try to convince a small group of angels to join Metatron,"_ Castiel said. _"They were very obedient in Heaven and therefore are most likely in Metatron's interest. They have been hiding since they fell. But, they started to show activity recently and were therefore traceable."_

Sam got up from his bed. He pressed the phone against his shoulder and began to change out of the hospital clothes.

"That's great news Cas," Sam exclaimed. "Don't worry, I will deal with this. I will call you in 10 minutes and you can tell me the rest of the details then."

_"Alright."_

Sam hung up. Finally! Something good was going on! He could finally get back at that dick for what he did to Kevin. Sam felt how his body was pumping with adrenaline. The hunter finished changing into his own clothes, packed the rest of his things and then sneaked out of the hospital.


	16. Something Odd

**16: Something Odd  
**

Sam's wounds were still hurting a bit, but other than that, he was feeling great. He could even confess that he was excited. He wanted to get back at Gadreel for possessing him and for killing Kevin... And, it would make Sam feel better about Krissy and Becky. They had just lost so many times recently that it would be nice to have at least one win. Sam was going to make sure that they got this one win. Gadreel was as good as dead.

The younger Winchester had gotten more information over the phone, but he and Castiel still decided to meet in a motel to talk things through. He parked the rented car in front of his destination and got out. He walked into the motel and went straight to the reception desk.

"Sam Winchester. A key card to room 203, please."

"Ah, yes!" The woman behind the reception desk said. She opened a drawer, took out a key card and handed it to Sam. "Your partner came half an hour ago and is waiting for you upstairs."

"Thank you," Sam simply said and took the key card.

"You two are very lucky," the woman said with a smile on her face. "He told me that he was eager to see you."

"Yeah, it's... He... We are not-" Sam started to say, but then shook his head and decided that it was a waste of time.

He gave the woman a nod and made his way to the room. He had no idea what Castiel could possible have said to give her such a wrong interpretation. It didn't matter anyway. He found 203, knocked and walked in. Castiel was standing in the middle of the room.

"Hey Cas," Sam said with a smile and closed the door behind him.

"Sammy," Castiel greeted.

The Winchester lifted up his eyebrows when he heard the nickname. That was... New. Only Dean called him that.

"So, any news?" Sam asked and took a few steps closer to Cas.

"No, I'm afraid not. The groups' last activity was in the church that I texted you. You should start there, find the angels and Gadreel will come to you."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking."

"You might need this," Castiel said and took out an angel blade from his coat and gave it to Sam. "It could be difficult to fight an angel otherwise."

Sam chuckled.

"Thanks," he said. "I guess that's all then? I'll keep in touch about how things are going. You should take it easy. See you, Cas."

He hid the blade in his jacket, turned around and was ready to leave. Castiel grabbed his upper arm to stop him. Sam gave him a questioning look.

"Be careful," the angel warned.

"Yes," Sam said and felt a bit confused. "I always am."

Castiel nodded, but was still holding Sam's arm.

"Ehum... Can you let go, Cas?"

"Of course," Castiel answered as he released the hunter's arm and took a few steps back.

Sam stared at the angel. He was acting kind of weird. Was it because his grace disappearing? Was he worried? Should Sam be worried?

"Are you alright, Cas?" Sam asked with concern.

Castiel sighed, closed his eyes and then opened them again.

"I'm fine, Sam." He said and sounded genuine about it.

They just stared at each other for a couple of seconds.

"Okay," Sam finally said.

Castiel nodded. The Winchester nodded back, gave the angel one last smile and then went out the door.

XXXXX

The teenagers played in a small park that had two soccer goals. They were playing five on five. Ben and four of his friends against five other guys that looked to be about Ben's age. Dean was sitting on a bench and watched the game. Strangely, he got really into it. When Ben's team stole the ball or someone made a goal, Dean would shout out cheers. It was even worse when Ben himself made a goal. Then, Dean flew up in the air, clapped his hands and cheered so loudly that he thought his lungs were going to burst.

"Yeah! Good one, Ben!" Dean shouted.

Ben looked over to where Dean was sitting and waved at him. He cracked a smile and then he continued playing.

Dean smiled and exhaled slowly. He liked this. He leaned back and made himself comfortable on the bench. This was nice. He was so proud of his kid. Well... Ben was not_ his_ kid, but... Dean scratched his chin as he signed. Alright. He was tempted by this life. He really was, but... It was just not meant for him. He was not meant to have Ben or any other kid for that matter. It didn't bother him that much. That was simply the way it was supposed to be. And let's be realistic, Ben was far better off without a Winchester. Dean was just happy that he could pretend to be an old relative that met Ben and now watched his game.

As the hunter was caught up in his own thoughts, he suddenly noticed Ben running towards him. Dean's muscles tensed up and he was alert. Was Ben hurt? Did something happened? What-?

The teenager pointed at his water bottle next to Dean and the hunter got the hint. He took the bottle and threw it to Ben. The younger caught it and drank several gulps to quench his thirst. He then swept his arm across his sweaty forehead.

"You're doing good," Dean said.

Ben lifted up his shoulders shyly.

"I mean it," Dean said sincerely. "That last goal was priceless."

Ben laughed. "Thanks."

He threw the bottle back to Dean and whipped his jaw.

"Gotta go back!"

"Kick their asses!"

The Winchester watched the rest of the game. It lasted for about 30 minutes more and then the boys decided to end it at a tie and continue again tomorrow. Ben waved good-bye to his friends and then walked back to Dean.

"That was a nice game, tough competition though."

"We'll take them tomorrow," Ben grinned.

Ben drank some more of his water and started to pack his things. As the hunter looked at him, he started to think about Lisa. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help it. God, he would do anything to see her again. Just once, really quick. It had been so long...

Dean knew better than to go and see her. Still, he couldn't help himself to at least ask about her.

"So... How is Lisa?" Dean smiled shyly.

Ben lifted up his shoulders in indifference and Dean's eyebrows got together in confusion. Then, Ben finished packing his things and started to walk out of the park. Dean followed him close behind. Somehow, the mood had changed a bit.

"Did you have a fight with your mom?" Dean asked.

Ben just grunted as a response. Dean sighed. Well, Ben _was_ a teenager, this behavior was normal even if it could be irritating at times.

The younger started to walk faster and didn't notice a big branch coming up from the ground. His foot got stuck and he tripped.

As a reflex, Dean reached for him and managed to grab Ben's T-shirt to prevent him from falling. Ben regained his balance and smiled weakly at Dean in thanks. The hunter didn't smile back. When Dean had caught Ben, the boy's T-shirt had gone up and revealed the boy's back. Dean could swear that for a split second, he saw several scars on the boy's back.

He looked at Ben suspiciously.

"What?" The younger asked with worry in his voice.

Dean took a step closer to the teenager, grabbed his T-shirt again and pulled it up. There were pink lines everywhere, in different shapes and forms. He had been right. So many scars...

Ben broke free from Dean's grip. He looked at the hunter in bewilderment.

"Who did this to you?" Dean asked in a serious tone and tried not to sound as furious as he felt.

Ben's eyes watered and his hands started shaking. He was not the same happy kid playing soccer anymore.

"Get away from me," the brown-eyed boy said and took a few steps away from the Winchester. He tried to sound strong, but his voice was on the verge of breaking.

"Who, Ben?" Dean demanded in a harsh voice.

Ben turned around and started to run in the opposite direction.

"Ben!"

"Leave me alone, asshole!"

Dean was about to follow the teenager when a thought suddenly hit him. What the hell was Ben even doing here? Why was he in this town? He and Lisa didn't live here... And, Lisa certainly wouldn't just move... Dean gritted his teeth in anger that he hadn't thought of this sooner. How stupid!

The Winchester ruffled his hair in fury and shut his eyes. The question still remained... What the hell had happened to Lisa and Ben?


	17. Never Looked Back

**17: Never Looked Back**

Dean had followed Ben, without the teenager noticing. He had to find out what was going on. It looked like Ben only lived a few blocks away because he entered a big white house with two floors. Dean parked the Impala nearby, but out of sight and stayed in his car while watching the house. Ben was inside for about five minutes. Then, he came out, slammed the door, took a bicycle and left.

Maybe the kid needed to let off some steam or be alone for a while. Whatever, this was Dean's chance. He got out of the car and made his way to the white house. He felt how his pulse raised and how his stomach twisted a bit. Would he finally see Lisa again?

The Winchester knocked on the door four times and waited. Finally, the door opened and standing in front of him was a short blond woman in her 40s or 50s. Dean felt dumbfounded and stared at her for a couple of seconds.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"S-Sorry," Dean said and shook his head to compose himself. "I'm looking for Lisa Braeden, is this the right place?"

He tried to peep into the house, but didn't catch anything interesting. The blond woman twisted nervously in her spot.

"Who are you?" She asked gently.

"I'm Dean," he said. "An old friend. I was just passing by and happened to see Ben so I thought I would come over and say 'hi'."

Something painful flashed over the woman's face, but only for a brief moment. She gave Dean a weak smile.

"I'm Susan," she said and offered her hand.

Dean shook her hand and gave her a smile back.

"I think we should talk inside," Susan said and moved aside. "Come in."

"Alright..." Dean said unsure and walked into the house.

"George? Could you come down for a second?" The blond called out.

"Coming!" A man's voice said from upstairs.

Susan turned to Dean.

"This way," she said and guided him into the living room. "Anything to drink? Tea, coffee?"

"No, thank you. I'm good."

"Alright. Then please, sit."

She gestured at the couch. Dean nodded, sat down and made himself comfortable. The blond sat down in an armchair in front of him. Then, George came down from upstairs.

"What is it?" He asked as he entered the room.

"This is my husband George," the blond told Dean as she pointed at the old man. Then, she looked at her husband and pointed at Dean. "This is Dean, a friend of Lisa. He was looking for her."

"Oh..." was George's simple response.

Dean was starting to get worried at this point. They were acting kind of weird. George sat down in an armchair next to Susan. The couple looked at each other and nodded. The blond took a deep breath.

"Well... There is no easy way to say this, but... Lisa has passed away."

A silence surrounded the room as the hunter processed the words that had just been spoken.

"What?"

"I'm very sorry," Susan said.

Dean frowned and scratched his head. "You mean she's..."

Susan just nodded and Dean suddenly felt like he had trouble breathing. He tried to inhale deeply, but didn't get enough air in. He stood up abruptly, but didn't know what to do with himself. He stumbled to one side of the room and leaned on the wall.

"Are you alright?" George asked.

"Yes, I..." Dean mumbled. He just couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How... When did it happen?"

The couple hesitated.

"Please. Tell me," Dean said in a pleading voice.

Susan took a deep breath and George took her hand in his to show his support. Then, the blond exhaled and nodded.

"Alright. Feels like yesterday, but it was actually quite some time ago. It's very delicate, but... She was kidnapped along with her boy Ben. It was awful. They got tortured and... Well, Ben made it back, but Lisa was... She was murdered."

It hurt in Dean's chest and he felt how his eyes began to sting, but somehow he managed to keep the tears in. Then, a thought hit him.

"How... How did Ben take it? What happened?" Dean asked and couldn't stop thinking about how painful it must have been for Ben to lose his mother._  
_

"Well..." Susan continued. "We got the custody of Ben and... It has been very difficult. For us too, but especially Ben. He has been seeing a therapist and only recently started to act like a normal kid. He finally goes out with friends again and does his homework for school. But, whenever his mother is mentioned... I guess, the memories come back to him."

Dean closed his eyes and nodded.

"Are you alright?" George asked as he stood up and approached Dean. "You look kind of pale, son."

"No, I... It's just a lot to take in," Dean tried to force a smile.

"We are so sorry you had to hear it like this," Susan apologized again.

Dean waved away her apology with his hand.

"Did... Did they catch the murderer?" He asked.

The couple sighed.

"No, they didn't," Susan said in disappointment. "They had no idea who did it and Ben was not much help either. He said that dark spirits attacked them, they had black eyes and God knows what else."

Dean's head snapped up. Demons?

"But, who can blame the poor boy? It was a very traumatic experience," George commented sadly.

"Yes..." Susan agreed.

Something inside Dean changed. He was starting to get angry.

"I need to go," the hunter said in a firm voice.

"Are you sure? You can stay for dinner if you want," Susan offered.

"No," Dean said almost too harshly. "But thank you for telling me everything and thank you for taking care of Ben. He is a good kid."

He gave the couple a nod and then practically stormed out of the house. It felt like his blood was boiling. He was furious. This was his fault, he was so damn stupid! How could he think that erasing Lisa's and Ben's memorizes of him would change anything? It was not like he had erased the time they had spent together or how much they meant to Dean himself. They could still be used as leverage against him. They were an easy target that just lied around and waited to be used against him. Yet, Dean had left them unprotected and without any knowledge about what was out there. And, he had not checked if they really were alright after he had left. Not even once!

When Dean reached his Impala, he punched a nearby tree with all his might. He felt how his skin shattered around the knuckles, but didn't care. While he and Sam had been doing their own business, demons had gone after Lisa and Ben. Lisa was now dead and Ben was literally and mentally scarred for life. All because of him.

"Dammit!" Dean screamed.

XXXXX

Sam pulled up in front of the church he had been looking for. It was somewhat in the middle of nowhere. The church was very big, beige and looked very old. It was not that fancy looking either. He sighed and didn't really know what to do next. He could see a lot of people going into the church, maybe that was his cue? Sam got out of the rented car and followed the small crowd.

The inside of the church was not much to brag about either. It had old wooden benches and dusty paintings on the walls. People took their seats and Sam sat down in the back to not be too visible. Two priests along with some altar boys came out from one of the side doors in the front. A nun followed them and took a seat in one of the benches closest to the altar. People started to sing something and the Winchester realized a service was taking place. He decided to play along, opened his mouth and pretended to sing even though he didn't know a single word.

Somewhere in the middle of the service, Sam heard faint giggles to his right. He turned his head and saw two young boys, probably brothers, who messed around with each other. It kind of reminded Sam of him and Dean. They never went to church as kids, but they messed around with each other whenever they could. Sam smiled. One of the boys tickled the other.

"Stop it," the other one laughed.

"Stop it, both of you!" A woman whispered harshly. "You have to be quite!"

"Sorry mom," they muttered in sync and looked down. Then, they continued singing with bored expressions on their faces.

Sam had to hold back a laugh. He wondered if this would be what his life would have looked like if their mother never died. Family dinners and going to church on Sundays... Sam shook his head. He looked at the boys again and thought of Dean. He wondered what his brother was doing. Did he go on another hunt? Was he alright? Sam took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind. He didn't have time for this right now.

The whole service took about an hour. When it was done, the nun spoke up.

"If you have time, then please, stay with us for some prayer." She smiled sweetly.

Most people cleared out, but some people stayed to pray. Sam didn't move from his spot in the back and tried to keep himself hidden. Everyone went on their knees, so the Winchester did the same.

"Our Father who art in heaven-" They started. Sam just mimicked everything.

He watched the two priests and the nun. They seemed so stale somehow... Something didn't add up. When they finished their first prayer, one of the priests spoke up.

"God, listen to our prayers," he said and held his hands up in the air. Everyone repeated after him. "Gaze upon us. Help us. Don't turn away from us. Please, open the gates of heaven and let us all reunite."

Sam had to fight an impulse to roll his eyes. This was too easy. Okay, so the two priests and the nun were angels. They could try to not be so obvious about it.

The prayer lasted 10 minutes or so. When done, the nun thanked everyone and people left the church. The priests and nun disappeared through one of the doors in the front again. When the hunter was finally all alone, he decided that it was time to take action. He needed to spy on the two priests and the nun until Gadreel would appear. He was going to pretend to be a caretaker and had some clothes for that in the car.

So, Sam stood up and walked towards the exit. He grabbed the handle, but was unable to open the door. It was locked. Why would a church be locked right after a service? Sam's muscles tensed up.

'Oh, no...' He thought.

The hunter took a look around, but didn't see anybody. He quickly made his way to the side and went into a confessional to hide. He closed the small door, sat down and with quick movements pulled up his phone from his pocket to call Cas.

_"Sam?"_ Castiel asked from the other end of the line when he finally answered.

"Cas!" Sam whispered anxiously.

_"Why do you sound so upset?"_ Castiel wondered. _"Did something happened?"_

"It was a trap!"

_"What?"_

"Oh, Sam!" Echoed a voice through the church.

Sam hung up on Cas and put the phone back in his pocket. He knew that voice. It was Gadreel. Crap. The Winchester stayed quite in the confessional. He heard someone stomping around in the church.

"Help me find him," Gadreel told someone.

"Yes," the other one answered. It was one of the two priests.

He heard their footsteps fade away in the distance and a door being shut. They had left. Sam exhaled. What the hell should he do? He came here to take care of Gadreel, but Sam had no chance if the other three angels were aiding him. The hunter bit his lip. Well, he couldn't stay in the confessional for too long because they would definitely find him there. With a sigh, Sam slowly opened the door and went out. Okay, now what?

XXXXX

Dean needed to talk to a demon. Any demon. So, he drove around until he found a crossroad someplace deserted. He parked his car and got out to get some stuff from the trunk. He had everything to summon a crossroad demon, the box, photo and the other ingredients as well. He put it all in the box like he was supposed to do and then leaned against his car. He took out his phone and looked at it. No missed calls or messages. Damn. He knew that Sam would be perfectly fine after their hunt, but would it kill him to send Dean a text that he got out of the hospital or something? Dean was still mad at him, but missed him too. He had no idea what was going on between the two of them. Should he call? No, Sam should call. Did he even consider calling Dean? Whatever, right now Dean had other things to worry about.

The hunter grunted, put his phone back in his pocket and went to the middle of the crossroad. He buried his box and waited. Soon, a hot redheaded woman who looked to be around 25 years old appeared.

"A Winchester!" The crossroad demon exclaimed. "I don't know if I should be thrilled or afraid."

Dean didn't answer her.

"So..." She smiled at him. "Here to make a deal?"

Dean actually laughed at that.

"What? It wouldn't be the first time," the demon teased.

The Winchester's smile vanished from his face. He took a deep, calming breath. Down to business.

"Lisa Braeden," Dean said harshly. "Ring any bell?"

The demon's face lit up.

"Oh, Lisa!" She smiled. "Yes, I have definitely heard about her."

"Start talking," Dean demanded.

The demon put her hands up in the air and looked annoyed.

"Gosh! Chill man," she whined. "It's not like it's a secret anyway."

Dean was puzzled which made the other one smile.

"Such a sweet girl," the demon said and pouted. "Dear Lisa just couldn't bear to watch her little son getting tortured..."

Dean clenched his fists.

"So," the demon continued. "To make it stop, she finally agreed to make a deal..."

Dean's blood ran cold. He rapidly inhaled a small amount of air and then held his breath.

"Yes, Dean. You guessed it. Her _soul_ for little Ben's _safety_," the demon smiled viciously. "So, none of us will ever bother the boy again. Part of the deal."

Dean gritted his teeth.

"You forced her to make the deal," he spat.

"She _did_ have a choice," The demon corrected him. "But, then again, what kind of mother would she be if she said no?"

The demon laughed out loud. Dean bit his lip.

"Shouldn't she get 10 years?"

"Well... It was more of a 'here and now' type of deal," the demon grinned. "It always depends. Hey. You should know how this works, Deano. After all,_ you_ only got one year when you made your own deal. I guess Lisa wasn't that lucky."

Dean was so furious that he couldn't stand still. He started walking and the demon did the same, but in the other direction. They were circling each other.

"Who did it? Whose fault is this?" Dean said in a threatening tone. "Was it Crowley that ordered it done?"

The demon looked lazily at him. "Does it matter?"

It really didn't. Then, a smirk found its way to the demon's lips.

"It's been quite some time since she died..." She said and dragged the words out.

Dean's eyebrows got together in confusion.

"What are you getting at?"

The demon rolled her eyes.

"Lisa spent much more time in the pit then you did," the demon teased with a grin on her face. "Long enough to... You know..."

'No,' Dean hopelessly thought. 'No.'

The demon laughed when she saw the hunter's face expression.

"You're lying," he growled.

"Check for yourself." She shrugged her shoulders. "She should be in a bar in the town or whatever where you two first lived together."

Dean clenched his jaw. He had enough of this bitch. He took a few determined steps forward towards the demon. Her eyes automatically widened a bit and she backed away.

"Sorry hun," she said. "Gonna run. I know too many demons that have fallen to the hands of the Winchesters. Not going to have a fist fight alone with you today. Bye!"

Then she disappeared.

"No!" Dean yelled furiously. "Coward!"

He kicked a nearby stone in anger. Then, he just stood still in the same place for a few minutes and breathed heavily. He was so mad. They had tricked Lisa into making a deal. A fucking _deal_. He knew demons often lied, but he had to check this out. He had to know for sure.

Dean went to his Impala again and took his seat behind the driver seat. Then, he drove away so fast that the tires made a squealing noise and he left only dust behind.


	18. Farewell

**18: Farewell  
**

The nerves were eating Dean up from inside. He had already checked two bars and this was the third one. Each time, when he didn't find Lisa, relief would wash over him. He would get hope that the crossroad demon had been lying. Still, here he was again, afraid that he might meet a familiar face that was supposed to be dead.

The Winchester walked very slowly and pushed the door open with one hand. He scanned the bar with his eyes. There were not that many people, but still a few. He took his time and looked at each and every one of them carefully. He didn't recognize a single face. Good.

Dean smiled and let out a breath he had been holding. He took a seat at the counter and ordered a beer. It was delicious and very calming. When he finished, he looked up at the black haired bartender and asked for another one.

"Sorry," she smiled. "I'm off my shift, but my friend will help you in just a second."

Dean just nodded and his gaze went up to a screen on one of the walls where a baseball game was on. He watched it for a bit until the new bartender spoke to him.

"What can I get you, handsome?"

"I wanted a b-"

The words got stuck in his throat when he turned around to look at the woman. He recognized the features right away, how could he not? Her amazing brown eyes and the charming beautiful smile. It was Lisa Breaden in the flesh.

"Dean," she smiled and gave him a beer that she already knew he wanted. "Such a long time ago. How are you?"

She didn't even pretend to act like she had forgotten about him. Was this the... demon? Just being Lisa? Did she have any orders? What-

"I-I-I'm great," he stuttered and blinked several times.

She bent over the counter and ran her fingers through his hair. Dean froze.

"Your hair is a bit longer," she said softly as she examined him. Her eyes met with his and they stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. Dean's heart skipped a beat. "Other than that, still the same pretty boy I knew."

She leaned back again and Dean stared at her. It felt so normal to talk to her. Yet, he knew that this couldn't be her. She died and her kid was now living with another family. He knew that full well, but it was so difficult to understand when she was standing right in front of him. This was not the same person he once knew, not anymore.

'Lisa...' Dean thought sadly. 'What did I do to you?'

He knew that he had to pull himself together, but something inside him hurt so much. She seemed so much like Lisa, yet he knew that it wasn't. He took a calming breath and took a gulp of his new beer.

"So... When are you free?" He asked. "I would like to talk."

Lisa looked at him and the corner of her mouth twitched into a smile.

"For you," she teased. "I can call someone and be free in an hour."

"Great," Dean smiled.

Then, Lisa made a call to a friend and asked her to take Lisa's place. Dean changed location. He sat down at a table in the corner of the bar and drank some more beer while Lisa had to be a bartender for 40 more minutes until her friend came. When the time was up, Dean waited for Lisa beside the exit. She was getting ready to leave and thanked her friend for taking her shift. Lisa looked good, Dean stated. Her hair reached past her shoulders and was a bit curly at the end. She had black pants and a black shirt on. She looked fit and healthy. She was just like he remembered her and it bothered him so much. It was a _demon_. Somehow, someone had pieced together Lisa's body so that the demon could wear its original meatsuit. Probably just to mess with Dean's head. He signed. It felt like his mind was so clouded. It was a demon, but at the same time it _was_ still Lisa. This was what she had become. Something he should hunt, but how could he?

Lisa was ready, she said good-bye to everyone and walked towards the hunter. Dean went out the door and she followed him. He walked forward without looking back. When they reached the parking lot, Dean heard Lisa stop behind him.

"I know that you know who I am." Her voice sounded a little different this time. It was colder, deeper and had an edge to it.

Dean turned around to face Lisa with a doubtful expression on his face. Her eyes flashed black and then back to normal again. He clenched his fists. It hurt so much to see her like this. He stood still while watching her for a few seconds. He closed his eyes and bit his lip.

"I know that you knew," he said silently.

This actually seemed to surprise Lisa. "And?"

Dean opened his eyes and stared at her in silence. He ran a hand down his face, inhaled deeply and then sighed.

"I don't give a damn right now," he said and shrugged his shoulders.

She snorted in disbelief. "Seriously? That's actually kind of sad."

"I don't care," he said and took a few determined steps towards her.

He stopped a few inches from her and placed one hand on her neck. He could see that she was startled and wanted to pull away, but she didn't. It was probably the desperate look in Dean's eyes that made her stay put. The hunter then kissed her forcefully and after a moment of hesitation, she kissed back. Dean could feel Lisa smirk against his lips before her hands went up and started to play with his hair. He put his hands on her waist and guided her to the Impala while walking backwards towards it.

When the Winchester's back hit the side of the Imapala, he fumbled with one hand to open the door to the back of the car. When he managed to open it, Lisa pushed him inside. He landed on his back on the soft leather seats. Lisa crawled on top of him and closed the door after her. She leaned over Dean and her eyes flashed black again.

"My poor little Dean," she whispered with a smirk. "Missed me so much that you would fall so low?"

"Shut up," Dean grunted.

A laugh escaped from her, but then she quickly dove down and kissed the hunter again. She then began to take off her shirt. Dean sat up, but instead of undressing himself, he opened the other door and climbed out of the car. Lisa looked at him with a questioning face expression.

"What are you doing?"

Dean exhaled and just pointed upwards with his index finger.

Lisa looked up and saw that above her, on the ceiling of the car, a devil's trap had been painted. Dean Winchester had actually painted something on his car. Surely it was something that would go off easily, but still. Lisa let out an annoyed grunt.

"Well... Don't I feel special," she muttered and her gaze went back to Dean.

Dean smiled at her sarcasticlly, but it was not his usual mocking grin. It looked forced.

"You _should_ feel special," he said and his voice was stronger than how he actually felt. "I'm taking you on a date."

He put devil's trap handcuffs on her as additional protection and closed the door to the back of the car. He walked around the Impala, sat down behind the wheel and drove away.

The ride was rather short, about 50 minutes. The Winchester took Lisa to an abandoned warehouse and tied her to a chair that was located on top of a devil's trap so that she wouldn't be able to escape. When he was sure that she had no chance of escaping, he took two steps back and examined his work. Lisa tried to break free from her ropes, but without success.

"This sucks," she breathed out.

Dean just shrugged his shoulders.

"I should have killed you the same instant that I laid my eyes on you in the bar. I just thought it would be fun to play a little first since we go way back," she said. "Oh, well... Silly me."

She grinned at him and Dean clenched one fist. Both stayed quiet for a couple of seconds until the hunter bulit up his courage to apologize.

"I'm sorry..." Dean said silently.

Lisa looked up at him and saw that the hunter looked really sad. He was genuinely sorry.

"What? For this?" She asked and looked at her own body. "You should be, your fault."

Dean couldn't find any words to say, so Lisa continued.

"But, I kind of like it. I don't have the whiny kid following me around anymore, it's great."

Dean shook his head in disagreement. Lisa rolled her eyes.

"Come on. I got knocked up and was then a single mother. Dated several guys, but it didn't work with either one of them. And, one even got me and my son nearly killed - That's you by the way," she looked at him sarcastically. "But... Now, I'm finally free. I can do whatever the hell I want."

Dean nodded in disappointment. This was not Lisa, it was a demon. He had to start to see her that way.

"I'm very happy for you," he said. "But, from where I'm standing, you don't look that free."

He looked at her ropes and lifted one eyebrow to prove a point. The demon ignored the comment. Instead, she took a deep breath and tilted her head to one side.

"I don't know what I ever saw in you." She pouted with her lip. "I think I just pitied you. You kept too many secrets, were never really good with Ben..."

Every sentence hit right in the heart, but the hunter pretended that the words didn't bother him. This was what demons did. He looked down at the ground. He wanted to shut down, to not hear anymore, but it was impossible.

"You're a broken, pitiful man that's so obviously tired of life and disappointed not only in yourself, but the world as well."

Dean bit his lip and looked Lisa straight in the eyes.

"You only saw hope in Sam, but he has disappointed you many times too."

"Shut up," Dean said half-heartedly.

"Dean," she said and sounded so much like herself right then. "Even as a demon, I feel sorry for you."

The Winchester turned around in frustration. He didn't want to look at Lisa when she was like _that_. It was wrong. As he was standing there, his back facing the demon and mind full of thought, he felt something warm his chest. Dean looked down in confusion and realized it was his necklace again.

'No,' he thought. 'Not now.'

It was always the worst timing. What was it this time? Was Adam healed and was his soul coming out of the necklace? Or was Michael visiting again? The last thought sent a chill down Dean's spine. If Michael would come he could kill Lisa. Like when he appeared in the nest and killed Tony. No, Dean could not let that happen. He wanted to cure Lisa with human blood, but there was no time. He couldn't risk her disappearing forever.

The hunter made up his mind and spun around to face the demon again.

"I'm sorry for everything that happened. That you ever met me. That I didn't check on you. That-"

Lisa rolled her eyes out of annoyance, so Dean stopped his rambling. He needed to cut to the chase. He closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened them again, finally knowing what to say.

"I will find you again and help you," he said wholeheartedly. "I promise."

Lisa looked curiously at him. "Hm? What are you going to do, Dean?"

"_Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas..._"

"You've got to be kidding me," she laughed. "You're using an exorcism to send me back? You don't even have the guts to kill me?"

Dean tried to completely ignore her and just continued what he had long ago memorized.

"You're so-"

As she kept cursing and insulting Dean, the exorcism started working. She grimaced and let out complaining noises.

"Stop it!"

He kept going with the exorcism and Lisa screamed in protest. When Dean was almost finished, she glared at him with rage and hatred in her eyes.

"Next time we meet I will fucking kill you with my bare hands!" she yelled. "You hear that, Dean? See you in Hell!"

"_Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire te rogamus, audi nos!_"

Black smoke started to fly out of her mouth and dissappered. Then, Lisa's head fell down and her body was completely immobile in the chair.

The smoke was gone which meant that _Lisa_ was gone. Suddenly, it felt like all the energy in Dean's body left him. He felt hopeless. He fell exhausted to his knees and closed his eyes. The necklace that was hanging around his neck was still burning hot against his skin and it made the hunter furious.

He grabbed the amulet tightly, took off the necklace with a rough motion and then stared at it as it was lying in his palm.

"What the fuck is it?" Dean yelled loudly down at the necklace. "Haven't you had enough? You have your little feathery dick back, so leave me alone!"

He was so tired of all this. Instead of playing games couldn't God, if he really existed, just help them? Why couldn't he help the poor people that he had left all alone on earth to care for themselves?

He wrapped his fingers around the amulet. Then, the feeling came. That this, the whole thing with Lisa had been yet another lesson from God to prove something.

Dean let out a short laugh. What did he really want to prove? That even though the Winchesters had hunted their whole lives, things have never looked this shitty? Dean knew that. Not only did they have demons and monsters roaming the earth, but now angels too. Heaven was closed and Hell had two possible rulers. It was hilarious, really. They had done the same charade their entire lives, the same thing over and over again. Like an eternal circle. Yes, they saved some lives, but did it really matter? When good people like Lisa or Becky became demons or vampires? Or when souls like Krissy's couldn't get peace because of the unfortunate situation?

Dean's eyes stung. Why the hell didn't things look better? Without thinking too much about it, Dean took out his phone and dialed Sam's number. He hesitated, but then called.

He waited and waited until he reached voicemail. That was maybe even better. He took a deep breath and spoke after the beep.

"Hey Sam. I... I think we should talk... Listen. It's a long story, but Lisa was tricked into making a deal to keep Ben safe. She... Is a demon... Sam, that could've been me," Dean's voice cracked a bit at the end and he cursed himself for it. He tried to keep it together. "If Cas never pulled me out, I would've been a demon right now... Instead, now Lisa is. And, it's my fault. I will fix it, I will... But, I might need your help."

He took another deep breath.

"And the necklace is acting up again. It might be Michael or something else. Who knows at this point... Yeah, I didn't tell you, but he popped in at our hunt. I don't know what to do, man. Everything-"

Dean looked up at the ceiling as he was talking.

"It feels like we have just been going around in circles, don't you think?"

Dean was quite for a few seconds.

"Anyway, call me."

He hung up and buried his face in his hands.

XXXXX

It looked like the Winchester was locked inside the church. Sam took out the angel blade from within his jacket. Thank God that he had it on himself the whole time. With the blade tight in his hand and being very light on his feet to not make any noise, he started to walk around and examine the church. He found a wooden door at one side, which was not the same that the angels had used during the service. He put his ear against the door, couldn't hear anything from inside, so he opened it gently. Thankfully, it wasn't locked.

It led to some sort of corridor. Sam didn't have much of a choice, so he walked inside and closed the door behind him. He kept going forward and tried to pay full attention to everything around him. At the end of the corridor, he found a big room filled with books. In the middle there were also some tables and chairs. The Winchester also noticed two doors at each side of the room.

He decided to try the left one. Sam walked up to it and just as he was about to grab the handle, the door opened itself. Now, a black haired priest was standing face to face with the Winchester.

The priest and Sam looked at each other, both shocked and eyes wide open. The priest's gaze then landed on the angel blade in Sam's hand and he tensed up. That answered Sam's question. Without waiting for the angel to tell the others that he had found Sam, the hunter swung his blade at the priest.

The angel maneged to move away, but Sam was quick and kicked him then in the stomach. Obviously, it didn't do much, but it was a distraction. The Winchester swung his blade again and cut the angel over the chest. There was no reaction from the angel. Sam was puzzled. He looked closely at the enemy's chest in confusion and saw that there was no mark from the cut. Had he missed? But, he was sure that-

Bam. Sam went flying across the room. His back hit one of the shelves and then he dropped to the ground together with a few books that fell out of their places. He grunted and looked up to see that the angel was walking determinedly towards him. Sam jumped up on his feet. As he did that, a fist came flying towards his face, but the hunter dodged and then stabbed the angel with the blade right in the heart.

There was just one little problem... The tip of the blade didn't pierce through. Nothing happened. It was like the angel had some protective vest on that couldn't be touched. That clearly couldn't be the case since it made no sense. The blade simply didn't work or something. What the hell?

Sam backed away from the angel and felt suddenly at a very big disadvantage. He had no chance without an angel blade. Without second thought, he turned around and ran out of the second door. He could hear the angel follow him.

The hunter, however, did an immediate stop because in the next room somebody was already there. Another priest, thus probably an angel, but this one was a bit fat and blond. The black haired angel also joined the room and he locked eyes with the blond one.

"It's the Winchester," he told the blond one.

'Crap,' Sam thought.

Then, the black haired angel behind Sam, flung himself at the hunter and strangled him from behind so that the Winchester couldn't breathe. As Sam gasped for air and tried to get out of the angel's grip around his neck, he saw how the other angel took out his own blade and walked towards Sam.

The Winchester started to panic, but then he heard the sound of flapping wings and Castiel appeared behind the blond angel. His friend kicked the enemy into a wall and that's when Sam felt the grip around his neck loosen just enough to give him the opportunity to break free. Then, Castiel grabbed the hunter's arm and pulled him toward himself, away from the other angel.

"Are you alright?" Cas asked in a faint voice. He was kind of pale and had bags under his eyes.

"I'm fine," Sam said and then noticed the black haired angel attack Cas from behind. "Look out!"

The angel had swung his blade at Castiel who manged to block the attack just in time. Cas held the angel's wrists, but the other was stronger and pushed the blade that was in one hand towards Castiel. Something was not right with Cas, Sam realized. Normally, he could have dusted these angels any time. Was the grace effecting him that much?

Castiel finally launched a kick, making the other unwillingly take a few steps back. Little did he know that the second angel, the blond one, was on his way to attack him. Sam took a step toward to his friend, he got hold of the collar to Cas' trench coat and tried to pull him away from the incoming enemy. It wasn't fast enough because Castiel got cut all the way from his side to his stomach. Blood stained all over the place and Castiel let out a cry of pain. Sam saw that his friend was about to lose balance so he quickly grabbed the angel's arm to give him support. Castiel looked up at the hunter in thanks and then quickly tapped his index finger and middle finger on Sam's forehead.

Just a moment later, their surroundings changed. Now, they were outside. It was night and therefore dark, but it looked like they were in a park. There was no church nor priest-angels. Castiel had transported them someplace else, someplace safe. Thank God for that.

When Sam heard Castiel cough, he turned his head to see how the angel was doing. He actually looked pretty bad and was coughing up blood.

"Cas, are you okay?"

The angel coughed up some more blood again.

"Not really," Castiel answered. Then, his legs didn't support him anymore. Sam was quick to get a better grip on his friend so that he wouldn't fall to the ground.

"Cas!" Sam exclaimed in bewilderment.

"I-I was cut by an angel blade," Casitel said weakly. "And I used up the rest of my grace to get us here..."

"What? What does that mean?" Sam wondered.

Castiel moaned out of pain and then bit his lip.

"Lay me down," he ordered.

"Yeah. Sure," Sam said and gently helped the angel to lay down on the grass.

When the Winchester moved Castiel's body, the angel let out a sound of complaint and pressed his hand against his wound.

"You need time to heal, right?"

A short sad laugh escaped from Cas.

"Sam," he said and smiled at him. "This... My grace is almost completely gone. I'm surprised that I'm even talking to you."

Sam opened his mouth, but then closed it again. He knew. Deep down, he knew. He knew that Cas shouldn't fly when his grace was at its limit. Not transport himself and Sam away from the fight. He certainly shouldn't fight either or get hit by an angel blade. Those were lethal for him. But, it was Cas. He could make it through anything. He won't go down just because lack of some stupid grace. Right...?

"Sorry to disappoint you," Castiel whispered.

Sam closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

"This is stupid," the hunter said and his voice broke halfway through the sentence. He shook his head violently as tears gathered in his eyes. "Cas. You can't do this..."

Castiel breathed heavily and pulled a face from the pain. He tried to move his arm, but only managed to move a few of his fingers. Then, he sighed and looked up apologetically at Sam. The angel's eyes said everything. This was it. The Winchester bit his lip and couldn't stop tears from falling down his cheeks.

"No..." Sam said and refused to believe that this was Castiel's fate.

Castiel didn't answer. Sam took a deep, shaky breath.

"You can't. I mean, what-" Sam whispered and the words got stuck in his throat. He felt how his heart sunk to his stomach. It hurt so much just thinking about a scenario like this. He cleared his throat. "What the hell would I tell Dean? Don't do this to me."

Castiel smiled sadly at the question.

"Sam... Just promise me that you will make up with your brother... I don't like seeing you two like this..."

"Wh-"

"Sam," Castiel pleaded with a weak voice. He didn't even have the energy to argue.

"Yes, of course! But, you are not giving up on me. Not _you_ Cas, I can't take anymore of this. We'll figure something out."

The angel smiled. The brothers would reunite again and that was all that mattered. Castiel closed his tired eyes and his body became limp in Sam's arms.

"Sorry..." Cas whispered.

"No, Cas!" Sam yelled terrified.

The Winchesters had lost many people along the way, but Sam couldn't bare the thought of losing their angel. Yes, Cas was family. But, Cas was also different. He was supposed to live forever or at least outlive Sam and Dean a couple of centuries. He was not dying today and not in Sam's arms!

"Cas, hey, listen," Sam said anxiously and felt how the worry was eating him up from the inside. "I will call the ambulance and they can patch up your wound, alright? Then, we'll get you new grace or something. Just hold on for a little while longer, okay?"

The hunter heard Castiel exhale softly and then the angel's head fell back. Sam's eyes widened in horror.

"Cas?" Sam whispered in a hoarse voice. "Cas?"

There was no answer.

"Hey Cas, this is not funny, say something..."

There was only silence. Sam started to sob loudly.

"CAS!"

He shook the angel's body violently to wake him up, but didn't get any response.

"P-Please... No... C-Cas... Please... Don't..." Sam cried. "Please..."

The angel didn't move. Was it even their friend anymore or just the empty vessel of Jimmy Novak? Sam shook his head and buried his face in Castiel's trench coat. He cried into the coat and soaked the angel's clothes.

Then, Sam felt something move. He opened his eyes, lifted up his head and saw that the angel's body was shaking. What-?

"Cas?" Sam whispered in a broken and miserable voice.

After Sam's call, Castiel started to laugh hysterically. Sam had no idea what was going on. Was Cas alive? Why was he laughing? What-  
Cas opened his eyes and when he looked up at Sam's confused face, he somehow managed to laugh even harder. He even held his hands on his stomach.

"Oh man..." Castiel grinned and swept away a tear under his eye from all the laughter. "That was just hilarious. Priceless."

Sam was at loss of words and felt like a big question mark. He was so numb after thinking that he had lost Cas that he couldn't think straight or understand what was going on in front of him. He just sat there on his knees with his mouth wide open.

The angel looked at him and smiled.

"Oh, right!" Castiel said as he remembered something and stood up on his feet. Then, he snapped his fingers and in a matter of seconds he transformed into the archangel Gabriel.

Sam closed and opened his eyes several times in disbelief, but the image was still the same.

"Surprice!" Gabriel sang mockingly and stretched out his arms to the sides like he had just finished a play and waited for applause.


	19. Hello Again

**19: Hello Again  
**

Dean sat on the ground with his phone in his hands and didn't know what to do next. He wanted to go to his baby and drive somewhere, but where? He had no idea where Sam was right now and it seemed pointless to ask Castiel for help considering the angel's state. Should he just wait for Sammy to call back?

The Winchester looked over at the chair with Lisa's dead body in it. He should bury her, he thought. Or give her a hunter's funeral. If the demons really wanted it, they would probably piece the body together again, but it just felt right to have some sort of closure. She maybe was a demon now, but she had gone through a lot and deserved a proper goodbye. Or maybe Dean just needed a proper goodbye... He smiled sadly down at the ground. It still hurt. It felt like there was a hole in his chest. Over the years, there were just more and more of these holes...

Then, Dean heard the sound of flapping wings. He didn't even bother to be optimistic and think that it was Castiel. He knew it was the dick with wings.

"Oh, and you're here to make my day even better?" Dean muttered with exhaustion and didn't even look up.

The archangel ignored the sarcastic comment.

"Dean Winchester," Michael said naturally. "The time has come for you to keep your end of the deal."

Dean's head snapped up.

"What?" The hunter asked and was puzzled.

"The deal," Michael repeated. "Adam Milligan is out of Lucifer's Cage. Now you have to stay true to your word."

'Shit,' Dean thought as everything came back to him.

The deal was that they could get Adam out in exchange for that Dean would 'deliver' something. So, was this it? Was this how God would force Dean to give himself to Michael? By Dean 'delivering' himself to Michael? The Winchester confessed that was tired of everything, but it didn't matter if it was a deal with the devil or with God himself. He was not going down without a fight. Sam would be so disappointed. And... If this was going to be Dean's last moments, he didn't want to regret anything.

The Winchester exhaled and stood up with slow motions.

"Are you ready?" Michael asked.

"I'm not sure this will go how you imagined," Dean warned.

Michael smiled lightly.

"Indeed," he said. "It's not how I imagined it at all."

Dean's eyes narrowed and his head tilted a bit to the side out of curiosity. Michael's gaze fell to the ground and he shook his head in amusement. Then, he looked up at the hunter again. He walked slowly over to the Winchester until he was standing right in front of him. Dean looked at him suspiciously.

"Alright then," Michael said. "Let's go."

Then, before Dean could do anything, the archangel tapped his index finger and middle finger on the hunter's forehead.

XXXXX

Just a few minutes ago, Castiel, Sam's best friend had been dying in his arms. Then, suddenly, it turned out to be Gabriel who had been killed a few years back. And, there the archangel was, standing right in front of Sam... The hunter just kept staring at the archangel and his mind rushed in million miles per hour. He tried to make any sense of this, tried to come up with explanations, but felt too baffled.

"Any time you're ready," Gabriel said with a sigh at the end.

The Winchester shook his head. He had to get his shit together.

"Is it-" He started.

"Really me?" Gabriel cut in. "Yes, honey. It is. It's alright, I know you missed me."

Sam closed his eyes. He had calmed down a bit and was able to think straight again. He opened his eyes and looked at the archangel.

"So..." Sam murmured. "The whole time?"

"Yeah, Cassie never called you about that case." Gabriel said nonchalantly and shoved some sort of chocolate pastilles into his mouth.

Sam couldn't believe it. Gabriel had called him, pretended to be Castiel, met up with him and finally arranged the whole church scenario. Now, it all made sense. When Sam met up with Cas in that motel, he felt that something wasn't right. And, by the way, the angel blade hadn't worked either. Sam took out the blade from his pocket and stared at it.

"That's right," Gabriel giggled. He snapped his fingers once again and the angel blade in Sam's hand turned into a yellow rubber duck. How tacky.

The Winchester shot the archangel a glare of annoyance.

"Seriously?" He asked.

Gabriel laughed. "Come on," he grinned. "Have you any idea how funny it looked when you tired to stab the angel with the duck?"

Sam sighed. His shock had passed by now and he actually started to get angry. Gabriel had made Sam believe that Castiel had died. It was one of the most traumatic experiences in Sam's life. How could he? The Winchester clenched his fists and glared at the archangel.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He spat.

"What?" Gabriel said innocently. "It was basically you and your brother's fault that I went off to take on my bro Lucifer and got myself killed. So, I thought it was only fair to pull a little joke on you."

"_Little_ joke?" Sam commented behind gritted teeth.

Gabriel grinned. "It might of gone a bit out of hand, but it was definitely entertaining."

Sam let out a huff of frustration. Then, he thought of something and his head snapped up again to look at the archangel.

"Wait... How are you back?" The Winchester asked.

"The million-dollar question isn't it?" Gabriel smiled.

The archangel was quite while the Winchester patiently waited for an answer. Gabriel sighed and rolled his eyes. "Brought back, how else kiddo?"

Sam nodded slowly. Gabriel had been brought back... Only God had the power to do that. But, why? Why now and not before? What-

"Well, you can sit there all day and think about the meaning of life or whatever, but I got stuff to do." Gabriel turned around and was ready to leave.

"Wait- What?" Sam asked quickly.

Gabriel turned around to face the hunter again.

"Well, apparently you have trouble with some Mata-Moto-Maeto-Tromato... God, what was his name again?" Gabriel bit his nails and seemed to be deep in thought.

Sam bit his lip and fought against the impulse to roll his eyes. "Metatron?"

"That's him!" Gabriel exclaimed and pointed at Sam while smiling like an idiot. "Yeah, got to take care of that."

Wow, great, that would be one problem out of the way. But, no, wait... Why was Gabriel supposed to take care of Metatron? The archangel didn't give a shit and only wanted to have fun. What changed? Wait... Someone had to tell him to do this... Who would Gabriel possibly listen to? Then it hit Sam. It was God of course, who else? He had brought back the archangel and then commanded him to do this...

"_You_ follow orders?" Sam blurted out in disbelief when he had pieced the pieces together. "Since when?"

Gabriel looked annoyed by the question.

"Yeah, I know. My millennium long vacation is over. Coming back to life has some downsides."

Sam let out a chuckle. It was quite amusing to see Gabriel like this, but the archangel somehow seemed happier then how the hunter remembered him. Still, the recent events were scary. Sure, it was good that Metatron would be out of the picture, but what else was happening? Anything was possible if God was on the move...

"Alright. Really need to go. See you around!" With those words, the archangel disappeared.

'I hope not,' Sam thought. He didn't want the archangel to play anymore jokes on him. He had bad experience with that. Not only had he made Sam watch Dean die, but now Cas as well. Seriously, Gabriel had no boundaries.

Oh yeah, Dean! Man, they really needed to talk. This was so childish. He missed his damn brother and someone needed to be the better man. Sam picked up his phone and was about the call Dean when he saw that he had gotten a new voice message. Sam opened it and listened.

_"Hey Sam."_

It was so nice to hear his brother's voice again...

_"I... I think we should talk... Listen. It's a long story, but Lisa was tricked into making a deal to keep Ben safe. She... Is a demon... Sam, that could've been me."_

What the hell? When did this happened? Sam's grip around the phone tightened as he continued to listen to the message.

_"If Cas never pulled me out, I would've been a demon right now... Instead, now Lisa is. And, it's my fault. I will fix it, I will... But, I might need your help."_

Of course Sam would help! But, could Dean stop blaming himself for everything? He didn't deserve it.

_"And the necklace is acting up again. It might be Michael or something else. Who knows at this point... Yeah, I didn't tell you, but he popped in at our hunt."_

What the fuck? Why didn't the idiot tell Sam about Michael? Was he out of his fucking mind? Angry and worried, Sam clenched his teeth and hoped that Dean was alright._  
_

_"I don't know what to do, man. Everything-"_

Sam closed his eyes. Dean sounded really hurt and Sam hated it.

_"It feels like we have just been going around in circles, don't you think?"_

'Yeah...' Sam thought sadly.

_"Anyway, call me."_

Without a second thought, he immediately called his brother.

XXXXX

Castiel was honestly not feeling too good. He kept getting weaker and felt so damn useless. Obviously, he constantly wondered what Sam and Dean were up to and if they were alright. It was beyond frustrating that he couldn't help them.

The angel was outside. He had decided to go out for a walk since he couldn't fly because of his grace. He was currently resting by leaning on a tree. Castiel closed his eyes for a moment and that was when someone behind him, cleared their throat. Castiel's eyes snapped open and he turned around.

Standing in front of Cas was... It was... Balthazar? Yes, it was definitely Balthazar. But- That was impossible. Castiel had stabbed him with an angel blade a couple of years ago...

"What? Not even a 'hello'?" Balthazar muttered. "You're just going to stand there?"

Castiel didn't know what to say. It was hard to believe that Balthazar could be back. Why was he here then? For revenge? Castiel just twisted around in his spot uncomfortably.

"I know. It's kind of awkward, right?" Balthazar said and made a face. "That's what happens when you meet someone you killed."

Castiel mouth hanged open. So, it really was him...

"I-I'm so sorry. I-"

"And in the back too..." Balthazar shook his head in disappointment. "Have you no shame, Castiel?"

Castiel sighed and his gaze fell to the ground.

"I'm truly ashamed of my actions," he said. "And I'm very sorry-"

"You think I'll forgive you?" Balthazar cut in.

Castiel looked up again. The other angel was of course right. There was no reason for him to forgive Castiel. Maybe he indeed came here to get even. If that was the case, it was over for Cas because he couldn't protect himself. He was too weak.

The two angels continued to stare at each other in complete silence.

"I'm just messing with you," Balthazar finally said and cracked a smile.

Castiel exhaled in relief.

"But, I _am_ pissed," Balthazar added and was more serious this time. "I know that you were totally crazy at the time. Thank God that phase ended. So, I guess we're cool. But, you owe me. Better make up for it."

Castiel smiled.

"I will certainly try," he answered.

Balthazar just nodded and put his hands in his pockets. Castiel used that moment to look more carefully at the other angel. He looked really good. Everything seemed fine, he looked to be in good shape and looked satisfied.

"Did... Did God bring you back?" Castiel asked delicately.

Balthazar cracked a smile, but didn't answer. Castiel didn't feel like he had the right to push for answers so he asked another question instead.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help you," Balthazar answered and pointed at Cas. "Ironic, isn't it? You were out of some grace, right? We need to fix that cause there is a lot of work to do."

Castiel narrowed his eyes in confusion and Balthazar just smiled confidently without saying anything more.

XXXXX

Michael had transported himself and the hunter to an old wine cellar. The Winchester looked around the room in disorientation. Then, the hunter noticed that an old man was standing a few feet away from them. He was wearing a neat black suit, was very skinny, had an extremely bored expression on his pale face and was holding a wooden cane in his right hand.

"Death?" Dean exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, Dean, brilliant observation," Death said in his monotone voice and rolled his eyes. "Long time no see."

The hunter opened and closed his mouth, not knowing what to say.

"Wh- Are you here to kill me?" He asked.

Death let out a short laugh.

"Please," he said. "I don't need an angel to bring you to me to kill you."

"Dean Winchester is here to-" Michael started.

"I know," Death interrupted dryly. "I've had my suspicions."

The archangel just nodded and then a silence surrounded them. Dean clenched his jaw in irritation.

"Well, great that you both know what's going on!" He exclaimed. "How about one of you fill me in?"

"You're here to keep your end of the deal," Michael clarified.

"What?"

"I think you know exactly what you are supposed to do," Death said calmly and looked down on the hunter's chest.

Dean held his breath. He had tried to ignore it, but truth was that the amulet had been burning hot against his chest. The hunter had tried not to think about it too much, but the feeling was there.

He looked down. Suddenly, it all made sense. It was his necklace. He was supposed to give his necklace to Death. He never really liked the necklace, but all of a sudden, he felt very reluctant to give it away. What did God want with Death anyway? He grabbed the amulet with one hand and stared at Death with hesitation in his eyes.

"Dean," Death said. "If you really think that you have any say in this then you are way ahead of yourself. Please, think again."

There was something about Death that always scared the crap out of Dean. He just reeked of respect. Dean had to be smart. He was surrounded by two very powerful creatures and he _had_ made a deal. It seemed like he really didn't have much of a choice. The Winchester took off his necklace and squeezed it hard in his hand.

"Adam is in here you know," he said quietly.

"I am aware," Death answered.

"Will he be alright?" Dean asked.

Death sighed. "Yes."

The hunter nodded. He had to trust him. Very slowly, he handed over the necklace. Death took it in his hand and then put it in the pocket of his jacket.

"Thank you."

Dean exhaled nervously. He didn't know how he felt about the situation, but he hoped for the best. Not Michael nor Death said or did anything, so the Winchester shrugged his shoulders.

"Now what?" Dean asked.

Death didn't say anything. Michael on the other hand, without warning Dean, stepped forward and once again tapped two fingers on the hunter's forehead.

Next thing Dean knew, he was once again back at the warehouse. He blinked in surprise and looked at Michael in bewilderment. He had no clue what to expect.

Michael seemed calm, pleased even, as he walked over to an empty chair in the corner and took a seat.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "What's going on?"

"I will now tell you everything that you need to know," Michael said.

Dean took a deep breath. Well, fucking finally.


	20. It's Time

_AN: Firstly, just a heads up that there is a small jump in time so that nobody is confused or surprised :) Hope you will enjoy!_

* * *

**20: It's Time**

The Winchesters were in a small wooden cottage that they had rented. It was located deep inside a forest beside a very small lake. They were completely cut off from any populated area and even the nearest road was hours of driving away. It was afternoon and the sun was still up warming its surroundings. The forest was quite.

Inside the cottage, the brothers were sitting in the living room in two armchairs across each other. Between them was a small table and on it was the board game Battleship.

"Say it," Sam teased.

Dean bit his lower lip in frustration.

"Say it," Sam repeated with a grin.

"Fine!" Dean exclaimed. "You sank by battleship..."

Sam laughed happily and started to put the pieces of the game back in their original place while Dean sunk deeper into his chair. The older brother glared angrily at a burning fireplace to his left that was making crackling sounds.

"I bet the game would be more entertaining if you actually won sometime," Sam commented.

"Oh shut up, Sammy!"

The younger Winchester let out a chuckle. It was like they were kids all over again. They used to play Battleship a lot when they were younger, mainly because Sam loved the game so much. Dean didn't mind it either. He missed those little moments that weren't necessarily connected to hunting. Just him and his brother doing random stuff.

Sam had finished putting all the pieces back in their rightful place and stood up to put the game back on a shelf where they had found it. He then walked over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

"Want beer?" He asked.

"Always," Dean answered.

Sam grabbed two bottles, closed the refrigerator and rejoined his brother in the living room.

"Catch," he said calmly while throwing one bottle in Dean's direction.

The older one caught it and nodded to his brother in thanks. Dean opened his beer with a beer opener nearby and then just stared at the fire again. It took him a couple of seconds to realize that the fire was dying.

"I'll go and get some more wood," Dean said and remembered there was some more stacked in front of the house.

Sam just nodded. The older brother got up from his comfortable armchair and walked out of the cottage with his beer still in one hand.

When outside, Dean took a deep breath to inhale the cold fresh air. He heard some birds sing in the distance. It all seemed so peaceful. Instead of grabbing some wood, he walked over to the lake that was about seventy feet in front on the house. He stood at the shoreline and stared at the small bugs jumping on the water and the sun reflecting on its surface. He smiled for himself a took a big gulp of beer. Then, Dean felt his brother's presence beside him.

"It's hard to believe, isn't it?" Sam said quietly.

Dean closed his eyes. The sun warmed his face. He opened his eyes again and kept staring at the lake in front of them.

Yes, Dean had to admit. It was hard to believe. Who would think, while looking at this breathtaking view, that it was the end of the world?

XXXXX FLASHBACK XXXXX

Sam was mad beyond words. He glared at his older brother in disbelief and gave him a hard push on his chest in hope that it would insert some sense into his brother.

"What the fuck, Dean! Are you even hearing what you are saying?"

Dean sighed and tried to calm his brother down.

"I get why you're upset, but don't overreact-"

"Don't overreact?" Sam shouted. "You just told me that Death has God's necklace! So they might be communicating and that there is a fricking new apocalypse coming!"

"No! You don't understand," Dean clenched his fists. He didn't know where to start. "It's not like before... There is no big fight with a lot of people suffering. Actually, there are no fights at all. No war, no suffering, just..."

Dean took a pause and Sam waited for him to continue.

"Just what?" He spat.

Dean took a deep breath. "Just Death doing his job right."

Sam looked completely baffled.

"And that's positive? His job is to fucking kill everybody!"

Dean rolled his eyes in annoyance. He tried to be patient with his brother because the older Winchester had reacted in exactly the same manner when Michael had told him everything.

"Sam, this..." Dean gestured around him. "Is all messed up. God created one hell of a messed up place. I mean... Good people, not only die, but get lost or changed for the worse and stay like that forever. No turning back. This plan or whatever is meant to change that. To make some differences. It's not just killing everybody off, it's... Putting them someplace else. Everybody together. The thought of rearranging how everything is running. Making everybody equal in a way."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sam whispered tiredly because he didn't have a clue what Dean just said.

Dean nodded and started to explain.

"Lucifer stays in his Cage and Hell will be a prison for those who deserve it, but some demons, demons like Lisa who had bad luck, will be turned back to humans."

Sam shook his head in disbelief.

"They will have a chance again," Dean continued with a grain of hope in his voice. "Won't have to suffer because destiny or whatever wasn't on their side. The others will stay put and won't be able to go around and torment good people."

Sam was about to object, but Dean was first.

"And," he added. "Those in purgatory will have a choice to make. Either to stay at the place where beasts can run free and show their true self or... They can be human again and leave purgatory for good."

"Is that even possible?" Sam questioned.

"It's God," Dean rolled his eyes because it was so ironic that he of all people was talking about the guy. "If he supposedly created all these things, then changing them a bit should be no problem."

Sam exhaled. He wobbled back and forth on his legs.

"I don't know, Dean... It sounds too good to be true," he finally said.

"No," Dean stated angrily. "It's fixing something that has been broken for fucking ages. Too long have he waited and watched people and souls suffer, be tortured, corrupted and all that kind of crap. He waited too damn fucking long."

Dean was now breathing heavily. The topic made him edgy. Sam didn't say anything, but seemed to be deep in thought. If it was true, it really did seem to be an answer to all the problems. Still, it was a scary thought.

"Why now?" Sam asked after some time had passed.

Dean shrugged his shoulders. "Well, some things pop into mind. The attempted Apocalypse made his angels fight. They hungered for power which was probably not the way he thought it would go down. Heaven is closed, the angels are on Earth, souls can't get peace. Hm... If not now, when is the right time?"

Sam actually snorted at that, but had a weak smile on his face. He started to crack his knuckles out of nervousness.

"So what?" Sam said in a hoarse voice. He swallowed some saliva before continuing. "Heaven will be like a new Earth for everybody? No personal Heavens guarded by angels? Something new?"

"That's what I heard..."

Sam nodded and bit his lower lip. Something bother him, Dean knew that.

"What is it?" The older asked.

"It's just... What we've been doing all our lives... Was it for nothing?"

"No," Dean answered immediately. "No Sam, we helped a lot of people. It doesn't matter if God is going to make everything better. We stopped and prevented a lot of suffering. Gave people a chance to be happy. That's something."

Sam smiled. It was true. He took a deep breath.

"So, what do you think about it?" The younger finally asked.

Dean was a bit taken aback by the question. He looked at the ground and tried to choose his words with care.

"We have been trying Sammy," Dean said. "We have been trying our best and we have saved people. But, there are far more who weren't that lucky. Who didn't have us or who we didn't have time to save. People like Lisa or Becky to just name a few. This can fix that. Fix everything we've been trying to fix. This-"

Sam put his hand on Dean's shoulder to calm him down. Dean's eyes locked with Sam's.

"I just hope it works," the younger smiled.

Dean nodded.

"Me too," he breathed. "Otherwize, there are a lot of asses we need to kick."

Sam let out a laugh.

XXXXX END OF FLASHBACK XXXXX

Everything had been so crazy. After that Dean had heard everything from Michael, he had picked up his phone, seen all of the messages from Sam and finally managed to get in contact with him. They had met up, talked everything through and also talked to Cas who had as well a lot to tell them. Then, their dear friend had recommended them to stay in this cottage and that's where they were now.

"So, are you going to take care of the wood or what?" Sam asked all of a sudden with a silly smile.

Dean grinned. "Yes."

"Alright, I'll go make us something to eat. See you inside."

The younger gave his brother a soft tap on the back and disappeared into the cottage again. Dean took one last glance at the lake and then turned around to go back. As he walked to the cottage his eyes stopped at the Impala that was parked beside it. He couldn't help it, so he walked over to her.

He walked around her twice, taking in all her beauty and stopped at the front. He put his hand softly on the hood and caressed it.

"I'm going to miss you," he said.

"I bet."

Dean's eyes widened and he spun around abruptly to see who the voice belonged to. Behind him was a good-looking brunette.

"Tessa?" Dean said surprised.

"Hello Dean."

A short silence surrounded them.

"So", Dean said and felt how his heart sank a little. He couldn't believe this would happen so soon. "Are you the one who will... You know?"

She smiled, but the smile did not quite reach her eyes.

"No, Death wanted to reap you two. He spared you for last."

"Awesome", Dean said sarcastically. "How romantic of him."

She just nodded and her gaze went to the ground. She seemed... sad?

"What are you doing here then?"

She opened her mouth, but closed it again. Then, she stepped closer to him and stared at his face.

"I don't know actually... You are the human I knew the best and you are kind of the reason to all this, so I just figured. Why not?"

"Well, don't get me wrong. It's nice to see you."

He winked joyfully at her and she laughed a little.

"Will I be seeing you upstairs too or where do you go?" Dean asked mildly.

It was not the right move because he seemed to hit a nerve. The corner of her mouth twitched into a sad smile.

"Not as smart as you are pretty," She whispered and her voice was a bit hollow. "Dean, what do you think happens to reapers when there is nothing left to reap?"

That sentence hit him right in the gut. He felt a big lump in his throat.

"So... Death too?" Dean asked carefully.

She shook her head.

"No, Death is immortal. God could create living things again."

Dean just nodded. He had always seen Tessa confident and now she seemed so lost. He really felt bad about all this. The worst part was that he couldn't do anything to help her. For lack of a better idea, he gently rubbed her upper arm with his hand in comfort.

"Tessa, I-"

She grabbed his neck with her hand and pulled him into a deep kiss. Their lips met and Dean was surprised that the reaper's lips were so warm. The kiss was short though. Before Dean had the chance to react, she pulled away again and just rested her forehead against his. He saw tears in her eyes, but she didn't cry.

"I have to go now," she whispered and took two steps back.

Dean didn't know what to say so he just stared at her with a helpless expression on his face. She giggled at the sight of him.

"Thank you," she said and brushed his arm before she turned her back and walked away.

Dean didn't know what Tessa had meant or if she just sought comfort in him, but he hoped that he had lived up to her expectations. Without knowing what to do or say, he just watched her walk away and disappear somewhere deep inside the forest.

"Hey, are you talking to somebody?"

Dean turned around and saw Sam at the door to the cottage.

"Just my baby," Dean said with a grin and pointed at the Impala.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Are you coming or what? The food is ready," Sam said.

Dean nodded, grabbed the wood he had originally went out for and went inside the cottage.

They didn't have much to choose from, so Sam had made some noodles and bacon. They sat in the armchairs again and ate in silence. Neither the TV or radio was on. Both knew that was a bad idea. News were most likely filled with chaos, panic and lack of understanding why people were suddenly just dropping dead all around the world. It would all be over soon. That was also the the reason why the brothers were in this cottage in the middle of nowhere, to have some peace.

Dean put down his plate for a second. There was still one thing that had been bugging him for a while.

"Why go through all the trouble?"

"What?" Sam asked, not expecting a sudden question from Dean.

"Why would God go through all the trouble of giving me the necklace, making me do things and all that? Why didn't he just give it to some random angel who could give it to Death?"

Sam shoved some noodles into his mouth as he thought about Dean's question. When he had finished chewing, he answered.

"Maybe he wanted you to understand?"

Dean made a face and snorted at the comment. "Why?"

Sam shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe because you doubt him the most."

Dean went quite at that. He looked down at his plate.

"And," Sam added and took a sip from his beer. "We were supposed to be part of the Apocalypse a few years ago. Maybe it was just a good way to end it."

Dean sighed. "Yeah, maybe."

They finished eating without saying anything more. Dean took care of the dishes. It seemed silly since it was the end of the world, but they didn't know what to expect when all this was over so Dean really wanted to do it. While he washed the plates and cutlery, Sam worked on a crossword.

Then, there was the sound of flapping wings. Both Winchesters turned their heads and saw none other than Castiel standing in the middle of the living room.

"Cas," Sam welcomed and threw his crossword to the side.

"Hello Sam," he greeted while looking at Sam. Then, he turned to the other brother. "Hello Dean."

"What are you doing here dude?" Dean wondered.

Castiel took a deep breath.

"It's almost time," the angel explained. "And-"

Sam and Dean nervously approach Cas to hear more.

"I just came to see you before it happens," Cas finished with a smile.

The Winchesters were quite. Sam looked at Dean who wasn't really reacting in any sort of way, so Sam took a few steps forward until he stood in front of the angel. He and Cas looked at each other in the eyes for a few seconds, smiled and then simultaneously pulled in for a hug. After a few seconds they let go and stared at each other like two idiots.

"I don't even know what to say," Sam said.

Castiel shrugged his shoulders.

"Thank you for everything, Cas." Sam smiled.

"You too Sam," Cas answered.

They grinned at each other and then hugged once more. They stayed like that for a while, then pulled away and gave each other a nod. Castiel then looked over at Dean who was still silent and staring at the ground. Sam cleared his throat.

"I'll get another beer," the younger Winchester said and walked over to the kitchen.

After a few awkward seconds, Dean looked up and took a step closer to Cas. The older Winchester was never really good at these sort of things.

"I guess this is goodbye," he simply said.

"It is," Cas smiled sadly.

Dean nodded, stayed quite and stared at the ground. Castiel sighed.

"We've known each other for many years and-" Castiel begun, but got interrupted.

Dean had abruptly pulled him into a tight hug, but the angel could not hug him back because his arms were stuck to his sides. He didn't mind that though. If Cas wasn't an angel and hadn't gotten his grace back the force of the hug might of actually hurt him. It brought a smile on his face.

Dean didn't know what had gotten into him, but there were no words that could explain how much Castiel meant for Sam and Dean. As he felt the fabric of the trench coat under his fingers, memories came rushing in. They had known each other for so long. Cas had rescued him from Hell, they had fought together, been in purgatory together... Both had sacrificed a lot many times, but Dean didn't regret a single thing. He felt his eyes sting a bit.

"Are you getting sentimental, Dean?"

"Shut up."

Dean pulled away and took a look at the angel. His body was relaxed, eyes calm and he had the most ridiculous smile plastered on his face. Dean had never seen Cas so damn happy. No wonder why... His brothers and sisters were finally cooperating and working together. His father, which he had always believed in, was back and had made it all possible. Dean could see that Castiel finally felt home. The angel looked like a child on Christmas. Dean chuckled at the sight of the angel in this state.

"I'll wait for you."

"What?" Dean had been caught up in his own thoughts.

Castiel smiled again.

"I'll wait for you," he repeated. "And Sam too. I will be right there, waiting for you when you arrive, Dean."

Dean couldn't even answer, he just smiled like a big fool. Then, Cas disappeared leaving a slight breeze behind him and thank god for that because if the angel would have stayed any longer Dean would not have been able to keep it together.

"Is he gone?" Sam asked as he entered the room.

"Yeah," Dean whispered.

"So this is really it..."

Dean's heart pounded really fast. He was starting to get nervous.

"The fun ends here, huh?" Dean said and was a bit surprised with his disappointment. They could finally rest. There would finally be peace and justice.

"You're kidding me, right?" Sam said with a smile. It was obvious that he had noticed his brother's disappointment. "I don't know what's the plan or what God is thinking, but... All souls, angels, maybe even some ex-demons and ex-monsters in one place? That is going to cause a ruckus for sure."

Dean smirked. "Perfect."

It was the end, yet it seemed like there was so much ahead. It was frightening. Dean thought of Sam's words and tried to imagine how it would look like. He made a face as he thought of something.

"Man, we will have a hell lot of enemies up there," the older brother muttered and was in deep thought. They had killed so many creatures over the years... The majority of them in one place...

"Yeah, but a lot of allies as well," Sam said and a faint smile curled up the corners of his mouth.

They would. Bobby, Ellen, Jo... Gosh, it would be wonderful to see those bastards again. And their parents too of course. Their mom's beautiful face and heartwarming smile... But... Somehow when Dean thought of John his heart sank a little. He was dying to see him again, but what would his father say? Would he be proud of Sam and Dean? What they have done? Would he be proud of Dean? Or would he be disappointed? That Dean hadn't lasted in Hell and had broken... That he wasn't as strong... That-

Sam's hand on his arm woke Dean up from his thoughts.

"It will be fine," he said.

Dean had no idea if Sam knew what he had been thinking about, but his brother's words felt reassuring.

"Yeah," he mumbled back with a smile.

They were quite for a few seconds and it was starting to get awkward so Dean cleared his throat.

"Care for another game of Battleship?" he teased.

Sam grinned. "Only if you feel like losing again."

"I don't think we have time for that," a voice said.

The Winchesters turned around and saw a skinny man in a black suit standing in their kitchen. It was Death. Their blood ran cold, faces turned white and breaths got stuck in their throats. He was here. That meant... They... The brothers' minds were blank for a few seconds. They were like two statues, completely immobile.

"Are you just going to stare at me or will you come over here so we can finish this?" Death complained.

Sam blinked a couple of times as reality hit him.

"Dean," the younger said as he smacked his brother lightly on the upper arm.

"Yeah," Dean answered after awakening from his momentarily trans-like state.

The Winchesters approached Death slowly and with care. They stopped three feet in front of him.

"Are you ready?" The older man asked impatiently.

"Is everyone-" Sam started to ask.

"Yes," Death cut him off.

"Wow..." Sam breathed out in disbelief and didn't know what to think of it. Everything was so surreal right now.

"The last men on earth," Death commented with a little mockery in his voice. "How does it feel?"

"Bit cliché," Dean said sharply.

"I would think so," Death said with his usual bored face expression.

"Wait, do you know what it will be like up there? What's the plan? Is this the endgame?" Sam blurted out several questions in a hurry.

Death looked annoyed by it.

"Aren't you curious."

The Winchesters waited for an answer. Death took a deep breath and sighed.

"Don't worry too much," he said. "This is not the end. There will come a time when I will have to reap God as well."

Sam's and Dean's eyes widened.

"What will happen then?" Sam breathed.

"Who knows?" Death said mischievously. "Now boys. Once and for all, this will finally be the last time that I'm reaping you."

He reached his hands slowly towards the brothers. Both fixated their eyes on Death and without noticing what they were doing, the Winchesters grabbed each other's hands. They held on tight to each other, afraid to let go of the other.

"I know you're scared, but keep your panties on. See you on the other side, Sammy."

Sam grunted. Really? Those were Dean's last words?

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

Then Death gently patted them both on their shoulders.

* * *

_SPN_

* * *

_Carry on my wayward son,  
There'll be peace when you are done.  
Leave your weary head to rest,  
Don't you cry no more.  
_

_-Kansas_

* * *

_SPN_

* * *

_AN: Wow, so that's that. Thank you so much for reading and for all kinds of support. It has been great writing for you guys. I was both excited and nervous about writing this ending, but I really wanted something different. __I'm a huge Supernatural-fan and love everything they're doing, but I had to admit that the show has been going on forever. So my initial thought with this fic was to write an alternative ending to the series and try to knot everything together in one way or another. I hope you enjoyed it.  
With that said, I still hope we have many episodes of Supernatural to come!_  
_Please review to tell me what you thought of the story._  
_Many kisses!_


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